For undergraduates orthopedics . Journal club meetings suggest ten most imp articles for journal studying
Reading File
Reading File
Searching PubMed
orthopedic surgery journal club education
Searching the Web
landmark randomized trials orthopaedic surgery undergraduate journal club orthopedics
Searching PubMed
arthroscopic partial meniscectomy sham surgery
Searching PubMed
tibial fractures reamed unreamed intramedullary randomized
Searching PubMed
hip fracture total hemiarthroplasty HEALTH randomized
Searching PubMed
open fracture irrigation FLOW randomized
Searching PubMed
anterior cruciate ligament early reconstruction rehabilitation randomized
Finding Sources
Searching PubMed
ACL reconstruction rehabilitation randomized Frobell
Searching PubMed
proximal humerus fracture surgery randomized PROFHER
Searching PubMed
distal radius fracture volar plate K wires randomized
Searching PubMed
knee osteoarthritis arthroscopy randomized Moseley
For an undergraduate orthopedics journal club, select papers that cover common conditions, introduce trial designs, and have practice-changing conclusions. This set gives balanced exposure to trauma, arthroplasty, sports medicine, and degenerative disease.
| No. | Article | Why it is important | Journal-club focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bhandari et al. Randomized trial of reamed and unreamed intramedullary nailing of tibial shaft fractures. JBJS Am, 2008. | The SPRINT trial, a major multicentre trauma RCT. | Primary outcome, subgroup analysis of open vs closed fractures, and clinical importance of a non-significant result. |
| 2 | Bhandari et al. A Trial of Wound Irrigation in the Initial Management of Open Fracture Wounds. NEJM, 2015. | FLOW trial. It changed thinking about irrigation pressure and showed that normal saline is preferable to soap solution in this setting. | Factorial trial design, composite outcome, and applicability to local open-fracture protocols. |
| 3 | O'Toole et al. Aspirin or Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin for Thromboprophylaxis after a Fracture. NEJM, 2023. | PREVENT CLOT is highly relevant to modern orthopedic trauma care. | Non-inferiority design, mortality versus symptomatic DVT outcomes, and whether the population matches your hospital’s trauma patients. |
| 4 | Bhandari et al. Total Hip Arthroplasty or Hemiarthroplasty for Hip Fracture. NEJM, 2019. | HEALTH trial for independently mobile patients with displaced femoral-neck fracture. | Composite end points, dislocation risk, function, and how patient selection affects the operation. |
| 5 | Rangan et al. Surgical vs Nonsurgical Treatment of Adults with Displaced Fractures of the Proximal Humerus. JAMA, 2015. | PROFHER challenged routine surgery for many displaced proximal humeral fractures. | Pragmatic RCT, crossover, heterogeneity of fracture patterns, and separating radiographic from patient-important outcomes. |
| 6 | Frobell et al. A Randomized Trial of Treatment for Acute Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears. NEJM, 2010. | Compared early ACL reconstruction with structured rehabilitation plus optional delayed reconstruction. | Treatment crossover, shared decision-making, return to sport, and why “early surgery for all” is difficult to justify. |
| 7 | Sihvonen et al. Arthroscopic Partial Meniscectomy versus Sham Surgery for a Degenerative Meniscal Tear. NEJM, 2013. | FIDELITY trial, a rare and memorable sham-controlled surgical RCT. | Placebo effect in surgery, blinding feasibility, patient consent, and whether results apply to true mechanical locking. |
| 8 | Kirkley et al. A Randomized Trial of Arthroscopic Surgery for Osteoarthritis of the Knee. NEJM, 2008. | Landmark evidence against arthroscopic debridement/lavage for knee osteoarthritis. | Choice of control group, functional outcome measures, and the difference between treating OA and treating a mechanical lesion. |
| 9 | Skou et al. A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Total Knee Replacement. NEJM, 2015. | Compared total knee replacement followed by rehabilitation with nonsurgical management for moderate-to-severe knee OA. | Benefits versus serious adverse events, composite nonsurgical care, and thresholds for offering arthroplasty. |
| 10 | Mellstrand Navarro et al. Volar Locking Plate or External Fixation With Optional Addition of K-Wires for Dorsally Displaced Distal Radius Fractures. Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, 2016. | A useful upper-limb fracture-fixation comparison, particularly for learning to distinguish radiographic alignment from functional benefit. | Allocation concealment, loss to follow-up, patient-reported outcomes, and cost/resource implications. |
Suggested order for 10 meetings
- SPRINT
- FLOW
- PREVENT CLOT
- HEALTH
- PROFHER
- ACL trial
- FIDELITY
- Knee arthroscopy for OA
- Total knee replacement trial
- Distal-radius fixation trial
A simple format for each meeting
Ask presenters to answer five questions:
- What is the PICO question?
- Was randomization and allocation concealment adequate?
- What was the primary patient-important outcome?
- What is the size of benefit or harm, not just the p-value?
- Would this result change practice in our setting?
These are strong starter papers, but they should be read alongside current local protocols and updated guidelines. The recent systematic-review search on orthopedic journal-club education did not identify evidence that changes this article selection; it was not directly relevant to clinical content.
This is a shared conversation. Sign in to Orris to start your own chat.