Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
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Comparative Study
Long-term clinical outcomes following 3- and 4-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to report the long-term clinical outcomes following 3- and 4-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). METHODS A retrospective review of all adult neurosurgical patients undergoing elective ACDF for degenerative disease at a single institution between 1996 and 2013 was performed. Patients who underwent first-time 3- or 4-level ACDF were included; patients with previous cervical spine surgery, those undergoing anterior/posterior approaches, and those with corpectomy were excluded. ⋯ Pseudarthrosis and deep wound infection rates were also higher in the 4-level group, although this did not reach statistical significance. Additionally, a smaller proportion of patients achieved a good/excellent outcome in the 4-level group than in the 3-level group. These findings suggest a significant increase of perioperative morbidity and worsened outcomes for patients who undergo 4- versus 3-level ACDF.
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OBJECTIVE Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury of the spinal cord following thoracoabdominal aortic surgery remains the most devastating complication, with a life-changing impact on the patient. Thymoquinone (TQ), the main constituent of the volatile oil from Nigella sativa seeds, is reported to possess strong antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and antiapoptotic properties. This study investigated the effects of TQ administration following I/R injury to the spinal cord. ⋯ RESULTS Thymoquinone treatment improved neurological outcome, which was supported by decreased levels of oxidative products (malondialdehyde and nitric oxide) and proinflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1), increased activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, glutathione-peroxidase, and catalase), as well as reduction of motor neuron apoptosis. Light microscopy and electron microscopy results also showed preservation of tissue structure in the treatment group. CONCLUSIONS As shown by functional, biochemical, histological, and ultrastructural analysis, TQ exhibits an important protective effect against I/R injury of the spinal cord.
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Multicenter Study
Vertebral compression fractures after stereotactic body radiation therapy: a large, multi-institutional, multinational evaluation.
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to identify factors contributing to an increased risk for vertebral compression fracture (VCF) following stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for spinal tumors. METHODS A total of 594 tumors were treated with spinal SBRT as primary treatment or re-irradiation at 8 different institutions as part of a multi-institutional research consortium. Patients underwent LINAC-based, image-guided SBRT to a median dose of 20 Gy (range 8-40 Gy) in a median of 1 fraction (range 1-5 fractions). ⋯ CONCLUSIONS A VCF following SBRT is more likely to occur following treatment for a solitary spinal metastasis, reflecting a more aggressive treatment approach in patients with adequately controlled systemic disease. Higher prescription dose and a preexisting VCF also put patients at increased risk for post-SBRT VCF. In these patients, pre-SBRT cement augmentation could be considered to decrease the risk of subsequent VCF.
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Comparative Study
Modeled cost-effectiveness of transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion compared with posterolateral fusion for spondylolisthesis using N(2)QOD data.
OBJECTIVE Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) has become the most commonly used fusion technique for lumbar degenerative disorders. This suggests an expectation of better clinical outcomes with this technique, but this has not been validated consistently. How surgical variables and choice of health utility measures drive the cost-effectiveness of TLIF relative to posterolateral fusion (PSF) has not been established. ⋯ However, with EQ-5D-based QALYs, TLIF would become cost-prohibitive at an increased surgical cost of $2960 relative to that of PSF. With the 2014 US per capita gross domestic product of $53,042 as a more stringent cost-effectiveness threshold, TLIF would become cost-prohibitive at surgical costs $2562 above that of PSF with SF-6D-based QALYs or at a surgical cost exceeding that of PSF by $1570 with EQ-5D-derived QALYs. CONCLUSIONS As with all cost-effectiveness studies, cost per QALY depended on the measure of health utility selected, durability of the intervention, readmission rates, and the accuracy of the cost assumptions.
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OBJECTIVE Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is the most common cause of spinal cord dysfunction in adults. In spite of this, the impact of the changes in myelopathic signs following cervical decompression surgery and their relationship to functional outcome measures remains unclear. The main goals of our study were to prospectively assess changes in myelopathic signs with a functional outcome scale (the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association [mJOA] scale) following cervical decompression surgery and to objectively test a proposed new myelopathy scale (MS). ⋯ The results showed an inverse correlation between MS and mJOA scores both pre- and postoperatively (Spearman's correlation coefficient = -0.202 preoperatively and -0.361 postoperatively). CONCLUSIONS Improvement in myelopathic signs was noted following cervical decompression surgery in patients with CSM. The newly devised MS scale demonstrated these findings, and the new MS scale correlates with improvement in mJOA scores in this patient cohort.