Elective Care BOASTs
These BOASTs are short standards documents that are trauma-related and produced by the BOA’s Orthopaedic Committee. They are downloadable from our website and can be printed for display in hospitals. You can find our full list of Elective BOASTs below.
The Safe Use of Intraoperative Tourniquets
- October 2021
- Local tissue damage is a significant potential consequence of tourniquet use, particularly in vulnerable patients. All users should be aware of strategies for the prevention, diagnosis and management of tourniquet related injuries and that their early appreciation is imperative. This may be particularly challenging in patients undergoing regional anaesthesia and in patients unable to communicate adequately.
Providing a Continuous Safe Elective Orthopaedic Environment
- February 2021
- This is the BOA's first elective care BOAST: we know that a sufficient and stable bed base is essential for effective year round orthopaedic care and minimising adverse events which can have catastrophic consequences. ‘Providing a Continuous Safe Elective Orthopaedic Environment’ discusses the principles underlying our need for resources often called ‘Ring-fenced beds’ and highlights the standards we expect to deliver. As such, this BOAST is relevant for much of our elective work load and we intend for this to be shared amongst departments and with managers.
The Assessment of Patients with Recurrent Patellar Instability
- August 2020
- The scope of this guidance is to provide recommendations for the assessment of skeletally mature patients with recurrent patellar instability and no significant degenerative change.
The Surgical Management of Recurrent Patellar Instability
- August 2020
- The scope of this guidance is to provide recommendations for the surgical management of skeletally mature patients with recurrent patellar instability and no significant degenerative change.
Revision Knee Replacement Surgical Practice Guidelines
- August 2020
- The volume of primary and revision knee replacement (KR) is increasing in the UK. Revision KR is expensive and technically challenging. This BOAST has been produced in order to optimise patient outcomes and improve cost-effectiveness. This document should be read in parallel with the other two standards published simultaneously which cover problematic knee replacement and prosthetic joint infection in knee replacement.
Investigation and Management of Patients with Problematic Knee Replacements
- August 2020
- Knee replacement is a successful procedure for the treatment of joint pain caused by arthritis. However, it is well recognised that 10-20% of patients report pain, stiffness or dissatisfaction after surgery. These symptoms have a wide range of causes and as such these patients need careful assessment and supportive care. To optimise outcomes and to identify potentially treatable causes, thorough and prompt Consultant led investigation is required and referral to specialist regional MDTs as needed.
Investigation and Management of Prosthetic Joint Infection in Knee Replacement
- August 2020
- Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is one of the most challenging clinical problems in Orthopaedics. It is devastating for patients, expensive to treat and achieving good outcomes is difficult. Optimising outcomes for these patients requires well- coordinated, multi-disciplinary team (MDT) care and robust referral pathways to specialist infection treatment centres.