John Davison

Background: Postoperative complications and substantial loss of physical function are common after musculoskeletal trauma. We conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of conditionally essential amino acid (CEAA) supplementation on complications and skeletal muscle mass in adults after operative fixation of acute fractures. Methods: Adults who sustained pelvic and extremity fractures that were indicated for operative fixation at a level-I trauma center were enrolled. The subjects were stratified based on injury characteristics (open fractures and/or polytrauma, fragility fractures, isolated injuries) and randomized to standard nutrition (control group) or oral CEAA supplementation twice daily for 2 weeks. Body composition (fat-free mass [FFM]) was measured at baseline and at 6 and 12 weeks postoperatively. Complications were prospectively collected. An intention-to-treat analysis was performed. The relative risk (RR) of complications for the control group relative to the CEAA group was determined, and linear mixed-effects models were used to model the relationship between CEAA supplementation and changes in FFM. Results: Four hundred subjects (control group: 200; CEAA group: 200) were enrolled. The CEAA group had significantly lower overall complications than the control group (30.5% vs. 43.8%; adjusted RR = 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.55 to 0.92; p = 0.008). The FFM decreased significantly at 6 weeks in the control subjects (–0.9 kg, p = 0.0205), whereas the FFM was maintained at 6 weeks in the CEAA subjects (−0.33 kg, p = 0.3606). This difference in FFM was not seen at subsequent time points. Conclusions: Our results indicate that CEAA supplementation has a protective effect against common complications and early skeletal muscle wasting after operative fixation of extremity and pelvic fractures. Given the potential benefits of this inexpensive, low-risk intervention, multicenter prospective studies in focused trauma populations are warranted. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level I. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Background: Posttraumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is a common and early sequela of tibial pilon fractures resulting in substantial long-term disability. New approaches are needed to objectively and reliably quantify early disease progression in order to critically assess the impact of interventions aimed at preventing or mitigating PTOA. Weight-bearing computed tomography (WBCT) scans provide a means for measuring joint space while the ankle is in a loaded, functional position. We assessed the interrater and intrarater reliability of a standardized, regional method to quantify joint-space loss following tibial pilon fracture compared with the uninjured contralateral ankle. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 20 patients with intra-articular tibial pilon fractures that were surgically treated at 1 of 2 level-I trauma centers. Six months after injury, bilateral ankle WBCT scans were obtained. Joint space was measured by 4 reviewers at 9 discrete regions of the tibiotalar articulation on sagittal images. Measurements were repeated by reviewers 2 weeks later. To characterize the measurement method, interrater correlation coefficient estimates and test-retest reproducibility were calculated. Results: The mean tibiotalar joint space was 21% less in the injured ankles compared with the contralateral uninjured ankles (p < 0.0001). The middle-lateral and middle-central regions of the joint demonstrated the greatest decrease in joint space between injured and uninured ankles. The interrater correlation coefficient of the measurement technique was 0.88, and the test-retest reproducibility was 0.80, indicating good reliability and reproducibility of the method. Conclusions: We developed a simple, standardized, and reliable technique to quantify tibiotalar joint space following tibial pilon fracture on WBCT. Significant loss of joint space is seen 6 months after the injury. This tool can be used to longitudinally quantify loss of joint space following pilon fracture and assess the impact of interventions to reduce PTOA.