OTA meeting roundup

Abstract

The Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) continues to grow in size, scope, and number of attendees. The 2013 meeting was held in the desert resort venue of Phoenix, Arizona from October 9th to 12th. The Annual Meeting was preceded by several well attended events including the Basic Science Fracture Forum, the International Trauma Care Forum, a ‘Trauma Boot Camp’ for practitioners needing a trauma refresher, a grant writing workshop, a Masters Level Coding Course, a course for Physicians Assistants and Nurse Practitioners, and a Young Practitioners Forum. Concurrently running with the Annual Meeting was a Residents Basic Fracture Course that uses a case based approach to teaching fracture care fundamentals for orthopaedic trainees. There were 105 podium presentations in nine scientific sessions, along with 128 poster presentations. In the meeting’s well-attended opening symposium, the focus was on evaluating outcomes for the 21st century. The session highlighted the use of a Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), which is a system of highly reliable, precise measures of patient-reported health status for physical, mental, and social well-being. Several randomised studies were presented in the foot and ankle scientific session. A total of 110 patients were enrolled in a prospective randomised study that compared early weight-bearing and mobilisation with non-weight bearing and immobilisation after open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of unstable ankle fractures.1 Patients treated with the early weight-bearing protocol had significantly …