Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery - British Volume Annotation

[Annotation] A history of limb amputation

Birch, R. — 2008-09-30

John Kirkup, the distinguished orthopaedic surgeon and archivist recently published a book describing the history of amputation. This annotation highlights the importance of this work and the particular relevance of many of its themes to current orthopaedic and trauma practice.

[Annotation] Double-bundle arthroscopic reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament: DOES THE EVIDENCE ADD UP?

Longo, U. G., King, J. B., Denaro, V., Maffulli, N. — 2008-07-31

There is a trend towards the use of double-bundle techniques for the reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. This has not been substantiated scientifically. The functional outcome of these techniques is equivalent to that of single-bundle methods. The main advantage of a double-bundle rather than a single-bundle reconstruction should be a better rotational stability, but the validity and accuracy of systems for the measurement of rotational stability have not been confirmed.

Despite the enthusiasm of surgeons for the double-bundle technique, reconstruction with a single-bundle should remain the standard method for managing deficiency of the anterior cruciate ligament until strong evidence in favour of the use of the double-bundle method is available.

[Annotation] Antibiotic prophylaxis before invasive dental procedures in patients with arthroplasties of the hip and knee

Uckay, I., Pittet, D., Bernard, L., Lew, D., Perrier, A., Peter, R. — 2008-06-30

More than a million hip replacements are carried out each year worldwide, and the number of other artificial joints inserted is also rising, so that infections associated with arthroplasties have become more common. However, there is a paucity of literature on infections due to haematogenous seeding following dental procedures. We reviewed the published literature to establish the current knowledge on this problem and to determine the evidence for routine antibiotic prophylaxis prior to a dental procedure.

We found that antimicrobial prophylaxis before dental interventions in patients with artificial joints lacks evidence-based information and thus cannot be universally recommended.