How COVID-19 may affect spinal fluid and four more studies spine and orthopedic surgeons should know about:
1. Researchers at the University of California-San Francisco and Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City found a link between people with post-recovery brain fog and abnormalities in their spinal fluid surrounding the brain.
2. In the residency application cycle that coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the median expenditures of orthopedic residency candidates were $5,000 lower than in the previous year. A study found residents' median total expenses for 2020 were $7,250 versus $2,250 for 2021. When broken down by geographic region, median total expenses for 2021 were still lower across the board, with applicants in the West saving $6,000, the highest savings of any region.
3.Total joint replacement patients on average consumed less than half the number of opioid pills prescribed by their surgeon. A study looked at opioid consumption in a cohort of 80 total knee or hip replacements who were provided a journal to track daily consumption of pain medicine. Patients were prescribed an average of 67 opioid pills but on average consumed only 31.
4. The CDC's surgical wound classification system might be inadequate for orthopedic surgery. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., distributed questionnaires to 39 orthopedic surgeons and found that only 15 percent said the current system, introduced in the 1960s, adequately covers orthopedic procedures.