Healio Orthopedics

What is ‘healthy light’? Permanent transition to LED bulbs may cause potential harms

Gabrielle M. Grasso; Dong-Wouk Park, MD — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 17:17:38 Z

By 2027, LED lighting will be the predominant source of artificial light available worldwide, after a permanent transition that some physicians are concerned will cause unique, modern-day health risks.
LED, or light-emitting diode, is a type of light that harnesses blue light wavelengths to create visible white light. In November 2023, delegates from 147 countries agreed under the United Nations’ Minamata Convention on Mercury treaty to phase out fluorescent lighting by 2027 due to environmental reasons, including mercury exposure, extreme energy waste and high greenhouse gas emissions.

Should there be a standalone rule-in test for PJI?

Javad Parvizi, MD, FRCS, FRCSI (Hon); Carl A. Deirmengian, MD — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 16:24:01 Z

Click here to read the Healio Exclusive, “‘We need to look at this like a cancer’: The path to define PJI.”
Diagnosis of a medical condition or disease is not always a simple task.
While conditions like pregnancy or HIV may benefit from the presence of an absolute test with a binary outcome, the majority of medical conditions have different intensities, like rheumatoid arthritis, or may manifest themselves differently in individuals, like multiple sclerosis. Further, some conditions like attention deficit disorder or depression may not have a clear definition or a specific blood test and their

‘We need healthcare voices’ for health education on TV, online

Lucas Laboy — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 13:22:30 Z

NEW YORK — Now more than ever, perspectives from people working in healthcare are needed outside of the clinic, according to a speaker at the 2026 Women in Nephrology Leadership Conference.
“We need healthcare voices,” Tara Narula, MD, professor of cardiology at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, said during a fireside chat. “We need people who have the training and the background to communicate the science appropriately.”
Narula is also chief medical correspondent for ABC News and a physician author. She touts the mediums of television and other media platforms for their potential

Fee schedule cuts: Surgeons who move cases penalized for progress

Anthony A. Romeo, MD — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 18:23:37 Z

Not long ago, a patient who underwent total joint replacement stayed in the hospital for several days. Today, many patients go home from an ASC within hours of leaving the OR.
That change did not happen by accident. Orthopedic surgeons have made this possible by refining techniques, adopting regional anesthesia and multimodal analgesia, building enhanced recovery pathways, and accepting responsibility for patients who recover at home rather than on a nursing floor. At first, CMS was reluctant but then supported every step, removing total knee arthroplasty from the inpatient-only list in 2018,

Q&A: ACP updates guidance on ethical AI use

Emma Bascom; Jan K. Carney, MD, MPH, MACP, FRCP — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:35:38 Z

In a new position paper, ACP detailed key principles for ethical, responsible AI use in healthcare.
AI — when implemented thoughtfully — has the potential to strengthen clinical decision-making, advance patient care “and preserve the central role of the patient-physician relationship,” according to an ACP press release. However, the technology is being adopted rapidly and “there has not been consensus on guidance around issues” like disclosure, fairness and privacy, and both “physicians and patients need practical ethical guidance to help ensure these technologies are used responsibly,

Frailty linked to increased cancer risk in rheumatoid arthritis

Rob Volansky — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:30:00 Z

Among a cohort of U.S. military veterans with rheumatoid arthritis, those with frailty and older age demonstrated an increased risk for cancer, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.
“Frailty in RA manifests earlier and more aggressively than in the general population, driven by chronic inflammation and systemic disease burden, yet its downstream cancer implications have only recently started to get examined, despite frailty’s well-established link to cancer risk in general-population cohorts,” Bhavik Bansal, MBBS, a postdoctoral researcher at the

‘We need to look at this like a cancer’: The path to redefine PJI

Ashlee Moore — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 19:53:43 Z

In the 1960s, Sir John Charnley, CBE, FRS, posited that periprosthetic joint infection was one of the most difficult complications associated with total joint replacement.
While Charnley spent his career in orthopedics whittling down the infection rate from 10% to 1.5%, infection still remains one of the major complications for TJR today.
“Whilst [PJI] may have a low incidence rate, 1% to 2%, [joint replacements are] done at such a high volume. You are talking about more than one million joint replacements,” Anoop K. Prasad, MD, PhD, a hip and knee arthroplasty attending at Harvard Medical

Q&A: How women physicians can find joy in personal finance

Jill Rollet; Brittne Halford, MD, MPH — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:06:38 Z

Brittne Halford, MD, MPH, paid off $138,000 in medical school debt in 2 years and 9 months without feeling (terribly) deprived of the good things in life.
“I am from a family that’s rich in culture and community and support, but not as far as passing down wealth. My parents could not afford to send me to college, but I was able to acquire enough scholarships to pay for undergrad and matriculate to medical school,” Halford, an internal medicine physician and financial coach, told Healio. “Like many individuals, I had a lot of graduate school debt, and I saw how it was

CMS expands Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement model

Casey Tingle — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 13:20:18 Z

The CMS announced the nationwide expansion of the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement model to begin Jan. 1, 2028, which aims to improve care coordination for hip, knee and ankle replacements, according to a press release.
This expansion is part of the Fiscal Year 2027 Inpatient and Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System final rule.
“Knee, hip and ankle replacements are important for helping seniors preserve their mobility and overall well-being,” Mehmet Oz, MD, MBA, administrator of the CMS, said in the release. “Expanding the joint replacement pilot program

Osteoporosis prevention, management starts at perimenopause

Rob Volansky — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:30:00 Z

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Osteoporosis prevention and management should begin at perimenopause and continue indefinitely as needed, according to a presenter at the Congress of Clinical Rheumatology West.
“A large proportion of the bone loss and destruction of bone structure that occurs in women before age 80 happens in the few years before and immediately after the final menstrual period,” Michael R. McClung, MD, FACP, FASBMR, founding director of the Oregon Osteoporosis Center, in Portland, told Healio. “Up to 30% of women have osteoporosis by bone density criteria

NASS revises rhBMP-2 recommendations for spinal fusion surgery

Ashlee Moore — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 19:38:28 Z

The North American Spine Society announced revised recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 coverage recommendations for patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery, according to a press release.
“The new NASS recommendations support rhBMP-2 as an adjunct in posterolateral lumbar fusion and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion specifically in adult patients at high risk for nonunion,” Mohamad Bydon, MD, cochair of the NASS coverage committee and chair of neurological surgery at the University of Chicago, told Healio.
The new guidelines follow evidence from initial FDA investigational

Pediatric e-bike injuries on the rise; more severe than bikes, scooters

Sara Kellner — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 03:06:08 Z

SAN DIEGO — Electronic bike injuries are on the rise among children and are associated with more severe injuries than pedal-assisted bikes or e-scooters, data from two studies presented at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition suggest.
“I’m sure everyone in the room has seen it in action, driving around your hometown,” John Wyatt, clinical research coordinator at the Jackie and Gene Autry Orthopedic Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), told reporters in a press conference on Sunday. “On my way to AAP, I saw kids flying down the road on

New classification may standardize surgical site management

Casey Tingle — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 14:05:45 Z

Researchers developed and validated a new classification system that may standardize reporting of all relevant grades of clinical presentation and management of surgical site outcomes, according to published results.
To develop a classification system for dehiscence, inflammation/infection, seroma and hematoma (DISH) that would apply across multiple medical specialties, Giles Bond-Smith, MBBS, BSc, FRCS, a consultant liver, pancreatic and biliary, abdominal wall reconstruction and emergency surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and colleagues performed a systematic

Below knee amputation may increase mortality risks

Ashlee Moore — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:39:10 Z

Below knee amputation is associated with substantial postoperative complications, including short- and long-term mortality risks, according to data presented at the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society Annual Meeting.
“This study has its limitations, but it emphasizes the importance of comprehensive counseling and coordinated care for these patients and the surgeries themselves,” Samuel A. Florentino, MD, an orthopedic surgery resident at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, told Healio. “[Below knee amputation] is hard for patients, and we want to be able to identify these risk

Q&A: How to build a nontraditional career as a physician

Sara Kellner; Naomi Lawrence-Reid, MD — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 19:42:35 Z

Growing up, Naomi Lawrence-Reid, MD, always knew she wanted to be a doctor.
Her career as a physician looks different from what she pictured as a medical student, but she said she wouldn’t have it any other way.
After medical school, Lawrence-Reid completed a pediatrics residency and then began working in a pediatric emergency medicine department.
“I got excellent experience,” Lawrence-Reid told Healio. “You learn to work fast, to work hard, to make decisions quickly about whether a child is sick or not or needs a procedure or intervention. But after about 3 years, I knew that was not my forever

FDA to remove references to animal testing in safety regulations

Jason Laday — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:30:00 Z

The FDA has issued a final rule that would remove references to animal studies in its drug safety regulations, as part of a larger effort across HHS to reduce what it calls “unnecessary animal testing” in biomedical research.
In addition to the new FDA rule, which would take effect Feb. 4, 2027, the NIH simultaneously announced a series of new initiatives intended to develop and promote alternatives to animal testing, including more than $88 million in funding for biomedical infrastructure projects nationwide.
“We are moving HHS toward a new era of biomedical research that puts human biology at

How women can step into leadership roles in medicine

Casey Tingle — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 19:48:32 Z

CHICAGO — According to WHO, women represent 67% of the global health and social care workforce, providing essential health services to approximately 5 billion people worldwide.
However, research has shown that fewer than 30% of women hold senior leadership positions within medicine.
“Traditionally, most of the people we have seen in leadership within and outside of medicine have typically been men and, even more specifically, white men,” Mary K. Mulcahey, MD, professor and chief of sports medicine in the department of orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation at Loyola University

‘Invisible work’: The cost of unseen tasks for women in medicine

Gabrielle M. Grasso; Gretchen Rickards, MD, MPH, PCC — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 15:42:27 Z

CHICAGO — For women physicians, the workday often extends beyond the clinic, with unseen tasks at work and home adding to the demands of practicing medicine, according to a presenter at the Women in Medicine Summit.
These unseen tasks, which range from additional professional expectations, such as mentoring and responding to patient messages, to family responsibilities, such as coordinating care for children and running a household, are known as “invisible work,” and may be impacting women’s roles in medicine, according to Gretchen Rickards, MD, MPH, PCC, internal medicine physician at

For women in medicine, the time to redefine leadership is now

Anthony DeFino — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 15:35:30 Z

CHICAGO — Women leaders are still underrepresented in medicine, so now is the perfect time for them to redefine what strong leadership looks like within their communities, according to a speaker at the Women in Medicine Summit.
“Leadership is not a narrow ‘command and control’ mindset or individuals whose egos enter the room before they do and who suck all the oxygen out,” Joanne M. Conroy, MD, president and CEO of Dartmouth Health, told Healio. “Leadership is expanding the oxygen in the room and actually creating an opportunity for many people to be a part of your team.”
A report from McKinsey &

Local tobramycin may not lower fracture-related infection

Ashlee Moore — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 20:02:28 Z

NASHVILLE — Aqueous tobramycin injections did not decrease infection risk in patients with open extremity fractures compared with IV antibiotics alone, according to results presented here.
“There is literature showing that aqueous tobramycin injection works in preventing deep surgical site infection, particularly several retrospective studies,” Arun Aneja, MD, PhD, an orthopedic trauma surgeon at Mass General Brigham, told Healio. “However, when we did the same study in a prospective fashion via randomized control trials, and we used a more specific definition of