The Ankle Ligament Reconstruction-Return to Sport after Injury (ALR-RSI) is a valid and reliable measure to assess psychological readiness before returning to sport following peroneal tendon pathology surgery

PURPOSE

The objective of this study was to validate a scale that could help surgeons evaluate patients' psychological readiness to return to sport (RTS) after peroneal tendon pathology surgery.

METHODS

The Ankle Ligament Reconstruction-Return to Sport after Injury (ALR-RSI) scale, which had previously been validated in ankle ligament reconstruction patients, was adapted to evaluate the psychological preparedness for RTS in athletic patients who underwent peroneal tendinopathy surgery. The Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) and Foot Ankle Ability Measurement (FAAM) scores were employed as patient-related outcome measurement (PROM) instruments.

RESULTS

This study included 57 patients. There was a strong correlation between ALR-RSI and both FAOS and FAAM (r = -0.68 and 0.74, respectively). ALR-RSI was considerably higher in patients who returned to sports than in those who did not. The mean score was 72.9 ± 19.0 in patients who returned to the same preinjury level, 48.5 ± 24.0 in those who returned to a lower level and 53.6 ± 31.1 in patients who changed their athletic activity (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, ALR-RSI showed at least a similar discrimination ability when compared to FAOS and FAAM. The test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.95. The Cronbach's α statistic used to measure the internal consistency was high (0.95). A Youden index of 0.65 was observed for a cut-off score of 68 points.

CONCLUSION

ALR-RSI is a valid instrument for assessing psychological readiness to RTS in an athletic population following peroneal tendon surgery. When compared to the most commonly used PROMs, it was strongly correlated and demonstrated at least similar discrimination capacity. This could assist surgeons in identifying athletes who will have poor postoperative results and advising them on their capability to RTS.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level III.

Validation of the Ankle Ligament Reconstruction-Return to Sports after Injury (ALR-RSI) Score as a Tool to Assess Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport in an Active Population After Ankle Fracture Surgery: A Cross-sectional Study

Ankle injuries account for 15% to 25% of all sports injuries resulting in significant pain and loss of function. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to validate a scale to help surgeons quantify the psychological readiness to Return To Sport (RTS) in patients undergoing ankle fracture surgery. ALR-RSI was used to assess the psychological readiness for RTS in athletic patients who underwent ankle fracture fixation between January 2020 and January 2021. Participants filled out ALR-RSI and 2 Patient-Related Outcome Measurement (PROM) tools: Olerud-Molander Ankle Score (OMAS) and Self-Reported Foot and Ankle Score (SEFAS). A total of 93 patients were included. There was a strong correlation between ALR-RSI and both OMAS and SEFAS, with Pearson coefficients of r = 0.58 and 0.53, respectively. ALR-RSI was significantly higher in the RTS group than in those who no longer practiced their main preinjury sport. Moreover, the discriminant validity of ALR-RSI (AUC = 0.81) was better than that of the SEFAS and OMAS (AUC = 0.64 and 0.65, respectively, p = .001). The intra-class correlation coefficient ρ of 0.94 showed excellent reproducibility. At an optimal cutoff value of 76.7, ALR-RSI had a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 75% with a Youden index of 0.56. In conclusion, ALR-RSI was a valid and reproducible tool to evaluate the psychological readiness for RTS in an active population after an ankle fracture. This score could help surgeons identify athletes who may have unfavorable postoperative outcomes and provide support on the ability to RTS.

Surgical epicondylar axis is not orthogonal to the femoral mechanical knee axis in valgus knees with primary osteoarthritis: Three-dimensional analysis according to knee coronal alignment in 112 patients

BACKGROUND

During total knee arthroplasty (TKA), most surgeons align the femoral component along the surgical epicondylar axis (SEA) considering it as orthogonal to the femoral mechanical axis. However, it is still unclear how SEA coronal alignment varies according to the native coronal knee alignment. The main goal of this study was to analyze the SEA orientation according to the native coronal knee morphotype.

METHODS

A total of 112 patients underwent a three-dimensional (3D) -planning-based TKA. The SEA was then determined by locating the epicondyles on 3D models. The 3D femoral and tibial mechanical axes were marked and the femoral (FMA) and tibial (TMA) mechanical angles were measured. The native HKA angle was measured as FMA + TMA. The SEA orientation angles were measured in the coronal (SEA-α) and axial (SEA-β) plane. SEA orientation was compared between the valgus, neutral, and varus knees.

RESULTS

The mean SEA-α angle was 90.2 ± 3° and the mean axial SEA-β angle was 92.2 ± 1.3°. The SEA-α angle was significantly higher in the valgus group compared with the neutral group (92.3 ± 2.9°, 90 ± 2.9°, P = 0.0009) whereas there was no significant difference in the SEA-α angle between the varus and the neutral group (89.7 ± 2.3°, 90 ± 2.9°, P = 0.32).

CONCLUSIONS

In contrast to the neutral and varus knees, the SEA was not orthogonal to the femoral mechanical axis in patients undergoing TKA for primary osteoarthritis. Our results suggest adapting the coronal alignment of the femoral component during TKA, while maintaining an average 2° valgus in valgus knees. By contrast, with varus and neutral knees, our data support the use of a mechanical alignment.

Higher femoral anteversion restoration accuracy after total hip arthroplasty with a proximally fixed anatomic stem than with a generic straight double-tapered stem

BACKGROUND

Femoral antetorsion in uncemented hip replacement hardly can be modified and the restoration of the anatomic anteversion might be difficult with standard stems. We compared femoral anteversion restoration of a generic straight stem with a proximally fixed anatomic stem that included a dual sagittal curvature and a proximal torsion. It was hypothesised that the restoration of the anteversion was more accurate with the anatomic stem.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this comparative study data were collected prospectively of 80 consecutive patients with total hip arthroplasty for primary osteoarthritis. In the first 40 patients (Group I) a cementless proximally fixed anatomic stem with 15° antetorsion of the shaft and a dual sagittal curvature was used. Its design was based on a database of 3D CT images of 600 hips. For comparison a cementless generic straight double-tapered stem was implanted in the next 40 patients (Group II). All operations were performed by one experienced surgeon. All patients had a preoperative 3D planning. A low-dose CT scan was performed at 3 months postoperatively to determine the postoperative stem anteversion.

RESULTS

The demographics were similar in both groups. In group I the mean postoperative femoral anteversion was similar to the preoperative one (22.1° ± 10.2° vs. 20.4° ± 9°; p = 0.2). In Group II, the mean postoperative femoral anteversion was lower (12.9° ± 10.8°, vs. 18.3° ± 12°; p = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

Uncemented standard femoral stems tend to reduce femoral anteversion. The used anatomic stem restored femoral anteversion better. The clinical impact of this finding has to be proven.

Comparison of Three-Dimensional Planning-Assisted and Conventional Acetabular Cup Positioning in Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

Malpositioning of the acetabular cup during total hip arthroplasty increases the risk of dislocation, edge-loading, squeaking, early wear, and loosening. We hypothesized that the use of three-dimensional (3-D) visualization tools to identify the planned cup position relative to the acetabular edge intraoperatively would increase the accuracy of cup orientation. The purpose of this study was to compare 3-D planning-assisted implantation and freehand insertion of the acetabular cup.

METHODS

This was a prospective randomized controlled study of two groups of twenty-eight patients each. In the first group, cup positioning was guided by 3-D views of the cup within the acetabulum obtained during 3-D preoperative planning. In the control group, the cup was placed freehand. All of the patients were operated on by the same surgeon, through a minimally invasive direct anterior approach with the patient in the supine position. Cup anteversion and abduction angles were measured on 3-D computed tomography (CT) reconstructions. The main evaluation criterion was the percentage of outliers according to the Lewinnek safe zone.

RESULTS

Operative time did not differ between the two groups. The cup anteversion was more accurate in the 3-D planning group (mean difference from the planned angle [and standard deviation], -2.7° ± 5.4°) compared with the freehand-placement group (6.6° ± 9.5°). According to the Lewinnek safe zone, overall, the percentage of outliers was lower in the 3-D planning group (21%; six patients) than in the control group (46%; thirteen patients). According to the Callanan safe zone, the percentage of outliers was also lower in the 3-D planning group (25% versus 64%). Although cup abduction was also restored with greater accuracy in the 3-D planning group, on the basis of the Lewinnek safe zone, the percentage of abduction outliers was comparable between groups, with fewer high-abduction values, but more low-abduction values, in the 3-D planning group.

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative 3-D planning increased the accuracy of anteversion restoration and reduced the percentage of outliers without increasing the operative time. In this study, the same advantage could not be demonstrated for abduction.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic Level I. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.