Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Orthopedics for June 2008. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Rivaroxaban Found Superior to Enoxaparin
WEDNESDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) -- In patients undergoing either total hip replacement or total knee replacement, thromboprophylaxis with rivaroxaban is significantly more effective at preventing adverse events than thromboprophylaxis with enoxaparin, according to two studies published in the June 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine and one study published online June 25 in The Lancet.
Abstract - Eriksson
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Abstract - Lassen
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Abstract - Kakkar
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Editorial
Article Examines Use of 'Key Opinion Leaders' in Drug Sales
FRIDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) -- Influential doctors known as "key opinion leaders" are paid generous fees to influence their peers to prescribe a company's drugs and may in fact be considered salespeople by the industry, according to an article in the June 21 issue of BMJ.
Full Text - Moynihan
Editorial - Buckwell
Editorial - Fava
Blood Substitute Can Be Alternative to Transfusion
MONDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- In the largest randomized controlled study to date of hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC) use in elective orthopedic surgical patients, the majority of patients treated with HBOC-201 were able to safely avoid red blood cell transfusions, researchers report in the June issue of the Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care.
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Hereditary Rickets and Multiple Sclerosis Linked
THURSDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- Hereditary rickets due to altered vitamin D metabolism is associated with multiple sclerosis, according to study findings published in the June issue of the Archives of Neurology.
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Osteoporosis Coordinators Seen As Beneficial
FRIDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- At tertiary care centers, the hiring of a part-time osteoporosis coordinator to manage outpatients and inpatients who have fragility fractures may reduce the incidence of future hip fractures and save significant hospital costs, researchers report in the June issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
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Knee Problems Linked to Cartilage Loss in Osteoarthritis
FRIDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- Medial meniscal damage and varus malalignment, and lateral meniscal damage predicted tibial and femoral cartilage loss over a two-year period in patients with knee osteoarthritis, according to research published in the June issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
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Hospital Factors Affect Pay-for-Performance Outcomes
THURSDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) -- If pay-for-performance programs are enacted nationwide, teaching hospitals that perform a high volume of hip and knee replacements may be most likely to benefit, according to a report published in the June issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
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Long-Term Outcomes Differ After Adolescent Back Surgery
THURSDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) -- Although the long-term health-related quality of life is good for patients who received surgical treatment for idiopathic scoliosis or spondylolisthesis during adolescence, long-term outcomes are better among those treated for scoliosis, researchers report in the June issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
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