Cell and matrix morphology in articular cartilage from adult human knee and ankle joints suggests depth-associated adaptations to biomechanical and anatomical roles

OBJECTIVE Marked differences exist between human knee and ankle joints regarding risks and progression of osteoarthritis (OA). Pathomechanisms of degenerative joint disease may therefore differ in these joints, due to differences in tissue structure and function. Focussing on structural issues which are design goals for tissue engineering, we compared cell and matrix morphologies in different anatomical sites of adult human knee and ankle joints. METHODS Osteochondral explants were acquired from knee and ankle joints of deceased persons aged 20 to 40 years and analyzed for cell, matrix and tissue morphology using confocal and electron microscopy and unbiased stereological methods. Variations associated with joint (knee versus ankle) and biomechanical role (convex versus concave articular surfaces) were identified by 2-way analysis of variance and post-hoc analysis. RESULTS Knee cartilage exhibited higher cell densities in the superficial zone than ankle cartilage. In the transitional zone, higher cell densities were observed in association with convex versus concave articular surfaces, without significant differences between knee and ankle cartilage. Highly uniform cell and matrix morphologies were evident throughout the radial zone in the knee and ankle, regardless of tissue biomechanical role. Throughout the knee and ankle cartilage sampled, chondron density was remarkably constant at approximately 4.2×10(6) chondrons/cm(3). CONCLUSION Variation of cartilage cell and matrix morphologies with changing joint and biomechanical environments suggests that tissue structural adaptations are performed primarily by the superficial and transitional zones. Data may aid the development of site-specific cartilage tissue engineering, and help identify conditions where OA is likely to occur.

Short-term Functional and Patient Outcome of the Bi-cruciate Stabilized Total Knee Replacement: Prospective Consecutive Case-series

Background: Total knee replacement is the gold standard treatment for patients suffering from advanced symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. The main goals of knee prosthetics are pain reduction and restoration of knee motion. The new prostheses on the market such as the bi-cruciate stabilized Journey knee implant, promise a reconstruction of total physiological function of the knee with physiological range of motion and therefore high patient satisfaction. Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the patient-based Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) outcome after total knee replacement with new physiological bi-cruciate stabilized Journey knee prosthesis. Study Design: Prospective, consecutive case-series. Patients: Ninety nine patients, who received bi-cruciate stabilized Journey total knee prosthesis between January 1st 2006 and May 31st 2012, were included in the study. A single surgeon operated all patients. There were 61.1% females and the overall average age was 68 years (range 41-83 years). Left knee was replaced in 55.6%. Methods: The patients filled in KOO’s questionnaire pre- and 1 year postoperative. Range of motion (ROM) was studied preoperatively and at 1-year follow-ups. The pre- and postoperative KOOS subscores and ROM were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results: There are significant improvements of all KOOS subscores. Ninety percent of patients have reached the minimum clinically relevant 10 points in symptoms, 94.5% in pain, 94.5% in activities of daily living, 84.9% in sport and recreation, and 90% in knee related quality of life. Postoperative, the average passive ROM was 131° (range 110-145°) and the average active ROM 122° (range 105-135°). The highest correlation coefficients ROM and the KOOS were observed for the activity and pain subscores. Very low or no correlation was seen for the sport subscore. Conclusions: Bi-cruciate stabilized knee prosthetic offers a solid outcome 1 year postoperative based on the results measured with the KOOS evaluation questionnaire. The Patients showed a generalized improvement in all domains measured in the KOOS of minimally 35, and up to over 52 points, what can be described as statistically significant. Patients described the level of functionality close to double compared to the preoperative status.

Oral or transdermal opioids for osteoarthritis of the knee or hip.

BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis is the most common form of joint disease and the leading cause of pain and physical disability in older people. Opioids may be a viable treatment option if people have severe pain or if other analgesics are contraindicated. However, the evidence about their effectiveness and safety is contradictory. This is an update of a Cochrane review first published in 2009. OBJECTIVES To determine the effects on pain, function, safety, and addiction of oral or transdermal opioids compared with placebo or no intervention in people with knee or hip osteoarthritis. SEARCH METHODS We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL (up to 28 July 2008, with an update performed on 15 August 2012), checked conference proceedings, reference lists, and contacted authors. SELECTION CRITERIA We included randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials that compared oral or transdermal opioids with placebo or no treatment in people with knee or hip osteoarthritis. We excluded studies of tramadol. We applied no language restrictions. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS We extracted data in duplicate. We calculated standardised mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for pain and function, and risk ratios for safety outcomes. We combined trials using an inverse-variance random-effects meta-analysis. MAIN RESULTS We identified 12 additional trials and included 22 trials with 8275 participants in this update. Oral oxycodone was studied in 10 trials, transdermal buprenorphine and oral tapentadol in four, oral codeine in three, oral morphine and oral oxymorphone in two, and transdermal fentanyl and oral hydromorphone in one trial each. All trials were described as double-blind, but the risk of bias for other domains was unclear in several trials due to incomplete reporting. Opioids were more beneficial in pain reduction than control interventions (SMD -0.28, 95% CI -0.35 to -0.20), which corresponds to a difference in pain scores of 0.7 cm on a 10-cm visual analogue scale (VAS) between opioids and placebo. This corresponds to a difference in improvement of 12% (95% CI 9% to 15%) between opioids (41% mean improvement from baseline) and placebo (29% mean improvement from baseline), which translates into a number needed to treat (NNTB) to cause one additional treatment response on pain of 10 (95% CI 8 to 14). Improvement of function was larger in opioid-treated participants compared with control groups (SMD -0.26, 95% CI -0.35 to -0.17), which corresponds to a difference in function scores of 0.6 units between opioids and placebo on a standardised Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) disability scale ranging from 0 to 10. This corresponds to a difference in improvement of 11% (95% CI 7% to 14%) between opioids (32% mean improvement from baseline) and placebo (21% mean improvement from baseline), which translates into an NNTB to cause one additional treatment response on function of 11 (95% CI 7 to 14). We did not find substantial differences in effects according to type of opioid, analgesic potency, route of administration, daily dose, methodological quality of trials, and type of funding. Trials with treatment durations of four weeks or less showed larger pain relief than trials with longer treatment duration (P value for interaction = 0.001) and there was evidence for funnel plot asymmetry (P value = 0.054 for pain and P value = 0.011 for function). Adverse events were more frequent in participants receiving opioids compared with control. The pooled risk ratio was 1.49 (95% CI 1.35 to 1.63) for any adverse event (9 trials; 22% of participants in opioid and 15% of participants in control treatment experienced side effects), 3.76 (95% CI 2.93 to 4.82) for drop-outs due to adverse events (19 trials; 6.4% of participants in opioid and 1.7% of participants in control treatment dropped out due to adverse events), and 3.35 (95% CI 0.83 to 13.56) for serious adverse events (2 trials; 1.3% of participants in opioid and 0.4% of participants in control treatment experienced serious adverse events). Withdrawal symptoms occurred more often in opioid compared with control treatment (odds ratio (OR) 2.76, 95% CI 2.02 to 3.77; 3 trials; 2.4% of participants in opioid and 0.9% of participants control treatment experienced withdrawal symptoms). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS The small mean benefit of non-tramadol opioids are contrasted by significant increases in the risk of adverse events. For the pain outcome in particular, observed effects were of questionable clinical relevance since the 95% CI did not include the minimal clinically important difference of 0.37 SMDs, which corresponds to 0.9 cm on a 10-cm VAS.

Association of radiographic osteoarthritis, pain on passive movement and knee range of motion: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND Knee pain is associated with radiographic knee osteoarthritis, but the relationships between physical examination, pain and radiographic features are unclear. OBJECTIVE To examine whether deficits in knee extension or flexion were associated with radiographic severity and pain during clinical examination in persons with knee pain or radiographic features of osteoarthritis. DESIGN Cross-sectional data of the Somerset and Avon Survey of Health (SASH) cohort study. METHODS Participants with knee pain or radiographic features of osteoarthritis were included. We assessed the range of passive knee flexion and extension, pain on movement and Kellgren and Lawrence (K/L) grades. Odds ratios were calculated for the association between range of motion and pain as well as radiographic severity. RESULTS/FINDINGS Of 1117 participants with a clinical assessment, 805 participants and 1530 knees had complete data and were used for this analysis. Pain and radiographic changes were associated with limited range of motion. In knees with pain on passive movement, extension and flexion were reduced per one grade of K/L by -1.4° (95% CI -2.2 to -0.5) and -1.6° (95% CI -2.8 to -0.4), while in knees without pain the reduction was -0.3° (95% CI -0.6 to -0.1) (extension) and -1.1° (-1.8 to -0.3) (flexion). The interaction of pain with K/L was significant (p = 0.021) for extension but not for flexion (p = 0.333). CONCLUSIONS Pain during passive movement, which may be an indicator of reversible soft-tissue changes, e.g., reversible through physical therapy, is independently associated with reduced flexion and extension of the knee.

The Hundred Most-Cited Publications in Orthopaedic Knee Research

BACKGROUND: Despite its limitations, citation analysis remains one of the best currently available tools for quantifying the impact of articles. Bibliometric studies list the "best-sellers" in a single location, and they have been published frequently in many fields during recent years. The purpose of the present study was to report the qualities and characteristics of citation classics in orthopaedic knee research. METHODS: The database of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) was utilized for identification of articles published from 1945 to March 2014. All knee articles that had been published in sixty-five orthopaedic and twenty-nine rheumatology journals and that had been cited at least 200 times were identified. The top 100 were selected for further analysis of authorship, source journal, number of citations, citation rate (both since publication and in 2013), geographic origin, article type, and level of evidence. RESULTS: The publication dates of the 100 most-cited articles ranged from 1948 to 2007, with the greatest number of articles published in the 1980s. Citations per article ranged from 2640 to 287. All articles were published in eleven of the ninety-four journals. The leading countries of origin were the U.S. followed by the U.K. and Sweden. The two main focus areas were sports traumatology and degenerative disease. The number of citations per article was also greatest for articles published in the 1980s. Basic research articles were cited more quickly, but not more often, than clinical articles. Most articles represented Level-IV evidence, followed by Levels II, III, and I. CONCLUSIONS: This bibliometric study is likely to include a list of intellectual milestones in orthopaedic knee research. It is apparent that a high level of evidence is not mandatory for an article to gain a large number of citations. Bibliometric reports provide a reflection of the quality of cited research published in a specific field and should therefore provoke thinking within the scientific community.

ACL reconstruction with physiological graft tension by intraoperative adjustment of the anteroposterior translation to the uninjured contralateral knee.

PURPOSE Fixation of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) substitutes with non-physiological anteroposterior translation (APT) worsens outcome. The aim was to present a technique for physiological APT adjustment of the transplant in ACL reconstruction and its outcome at midterm. METHODS In a consecutive series of 28 patients (age 32 ± 11 years, 24 male), chronic ACL deficiency was treated by bone-patella-tendon-bone reconstruction. Transplant APT was adjusted to that of the contralateral uninjured ACL, measured 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively using the Rolimeter. At a median follow-up of 5.3 years (3-8 years), 82% of the patients were re-evaluated with APT measurement and using IKDC-, Tegner-, Lysholm-Scores, conventional radiographs and MRI. RESULTS No differences in APT (mean ± SD) between uninjured and reconstructed knees were observed after adjustment (6 ± 1 versus 6 ± 1 mm, n.s.). Three months postoperatively, a statistically significant increase in APT (7 ± 1 mm) and a further increase at midterm (9 ± 2 mm) were observed. Patients scored "normal" or "nearly normal", respectively, in 79% (IKDC) and 4 (3-9) points (Tegner; median, range) or 89 ± 9 points (Lysholm; mean ± SD). Radiological evaluation showed no, minimal or moderate joint degeneration in 5, 20 and 75% of patients, respectively. MRI confirmed intact ACL transplants in all patients. CONCLUSION ACL reconstruction using the presented technique was considered successful, as patients did not suffer from subjective instability, radiographic analysis did not provide evidence for graft rupture at midterm. However, APT increase and occurrence of degenerative changes in reconstructed knees at the midterm might not be prevented even by restoration of a physiological APT in ACL reconstruction. The Rolimeter can be used for quick and easy intraoperative indirect control of the applied tension to the ACL transplant by measuring the APT to obtain physiological tensioning resulting in a satisfying outcome at midterm. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV.

Arthroplasty - current strategies for the management of knee osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis of the knee is a major clinical burden. Recent decades have witnessed an improved understanding of knee physiology and kinematics, which has led to the introduction of a wide range of enhanced prosthetic implant designs for a variety of indications. However, the increase in the number of procedures performed annually has led to complications being encountered at higher rates than ever before, requiring the development of optimised therapeutic strategies. The future holds several promising options, primarily in the treatment of early osteoarthritis, biological therapy, surgical navigation and patient-specific implants. This review provides an insight into the current options of knee arthroplasty, with emphasis on available designs, and examines the complications that may be encountered.

Short-term functional versus patient-reported outcome of the bicruciate stabilized total knee arthroplasty: prospective consecutive case series

BACKGROUND The main goals of the standard treatment for advanced symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, total knee arthroplasty (TKA), are pain reduction and restoration of knee motion.The aim of this study was to analyse the outcome of the patient-based Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and the surgeon-based Knee Society Score (KSS) and its Knee Score (KS) and Knee Functional Score (KFS) components after (TKA) using the Journey knee prosthesis, and to assess the correlation of these scores with range of motion (ROM). METHODS In a prospective case series study between August 1st 2008 and May 31st 2011, 99 patients, all operated by a single surgeon, received Journey bicruciate stabilized total knee prostheses. The female/male ratio was 53/34, the mean patient age at surgery was 68 years (range 41-83 years), and the left/right knee ratio was 55/44. The KOOS, range of motion, and KS and KFS were obtained preoperatively and at 1-year follow-up. The pre- and postoperative levels of the outcome measures were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Correlation between ROM and patient outcomes was analysed with the Spearman coefficient. RESULTS All KOOS subscores improved significantly. Ninety percent of patients improved by at least the minimum clinically relevant difference of 10 points in stiffness and other symptoms, 94.5% in pain, 94.5% in activities of daily living, 84.9% in sports and recreation, and 90% in knee-related quality of life. The mean passive and active ROM improved from 122.4° (range 90-145°) and 120.4° (range 80-145°) preoperatively to 129.4° (range 90-145°) and 127.1° (range 100-145°) postoperatively. The highest correlation coefficients for ROM and KOOS were observed for the activity and pain subscores. Very low or no correlation was seen for the sport subscore.There was a significant and clinically relevant improvement of KSS (preop/postop 112.2/174.5 points), and its KS (preop/postop 45.6/86.8 points) and KFS (preop/postop 66.6/87.8 points) components. CONCLUSIONS The Journey bicruciate stabilized knee prosthesis showed good 1-year postoperative results in terms of both functional and patient-based outcome. However, higher knee ROM correlates only moderately with patient-based outcome, implying that functionality afforded by the Journey bicruciate TKA is not equivalent to patient satisfaction.