Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
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OBJECTIVE Hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) significantly compromise patient safety, and have been identified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as events that will be associated with penalties for surgeons. The mitigation of HACs must be an important consideration during the postoperative management of patients undergoing spine tumor resection. The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors for HACs and to characterize the relationship between HACs and other postoperative adverse events following spine tumor resection. ⋯ Other variables, including hospital-associated factors, may play a role in the development of these conditions. The presence of an HAC was found to be an independent risk factor for a variety of adverse events. These findings highlight the need for continued development of evidence-based protocols designed to reduce the incidence and severity of HACs.
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OBJECTIVE Pedicle screw-rod-based hybrid stabilization (PH) and interspinous device-based hybrid stabilization (IH) have been proposed to prevent adjacent-segment degeneration (ASD) and their effectiveness has been reported. However, a comparative study based on sound biomechanical proof has not yet been reported. The aim of this study was to compare the biomechanical effects of IH and PH on the transition and adjacent segments. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS Both IH and PH models limited excessive motion and IDP at the transition segment compared with the fusion model. At the segment adjacent to the transition level, PH induced higher stress than IH model. Such differences may eventually influence the likelihood of ASD.
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OBJECTIVE The authors' aim in this study was to evaluate whether sagittal plane correction can be obtained from the front by overpowering previous posterior instrumentation and/or fusion with hyperlordotic anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) cages in patients undergoing revision surgery for degenerative spinal conditions and/or spinal deformities. METHODS The authors report their experience with the application of hyperlordotic cages at 36 lumbar levels for ALIFs in a series of 20 patients who underwent revision spinal surgery at a single institution. Included patients underwent staged front-back procedures: ALIFs with hyperlordotic cages (12°, 20°, and 30°) followed by removal of posterior instrumentation and reinstrumentation from the back. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS ALIF in which hyperlordotic cages are used to overpower posterior spinal instrumentation and fusion can be expected to produce an increase in SL of a magnitude that is roughly half of the in-built cage lordotic angle. This technique may be particularly suited for lordosis correction from the front at lumbar levels that have pseudarthrosis from the previous posterior spinal fusion. Meticulous selection of levels for ALIF is crucial for safely and effectively performing this technique.
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OBJECTIVE Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a major complication of spinal fractures in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). Due to the uncommon nature of these conditions, existing literature consists of relatively small case series without detailed neurological data. This study aims to investigate the incidence, predictors, and sequelae of SCI in patients with a traumatic fracture of the ankylosed spine. ⋯ One-fifth of the patients with SCI had delayed SCI. Patients with SCI had more complications, a longer hospital stay, and a lower probability of survival. Less than half of the patients with SCI showed neurological improvement.
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OBJECTIVE In this analysis the authors compare the characteristics of smokers to nonsmokers using demographic, socioeconomic, and comorbidity variables. They also investigate which of these characteristics are most strongly associated with smoking status. Finally, the authors investigate whether the association between known patient risk factors and disability outcome is differentially modified by patient smoking status for those who have undergone surgery for lumbar degeneration. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS Using a large, national, multiinstitutional registry, the authors described the profile of patients who undergo lumbar spine surgery and its association with their smoking status. Compared with nonsmokers, smokers were younger, male, nondiabetic, nonobese patients presenting with leg pain more so than back pain, with higher ASA classes, higher disability, less education, more likely to be unemployed, and with Medicaid/uninsured insurance status. Smoking status did not affect the association between these risk factors and 12-month ODI outcome, suggesting that interventions for modifiable risk factors are equally efficacious between smokers and nonsmokers.