Zeitschrift für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie
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Low follow-up rates are a limitation of many long-term studies. Studies on patients after surgical treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) rarely have follow-up rates that reach 80% after 5 years or 70% after 10 years. While there is general consensus that a high patient drop-out rate will decrease the accuracy of a study, little is known about the characteristics of those patients who have dropped out. The purpose of the present study was to identify patients who were lost to follow-up after surgical correction of AIS and to compare their clinical characteristics to those of patients who were available for follow-up. ⋯ We found significant clinical differences for patients who are lost to follow-up when compared to patients who are available for follow-up. While we are aware of the difficulties in obtaining high follow-up rates for a clinical study, care should be taken in analysing studies with low follow-up rates because results may be skewed.
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Controlled Clinical Trial
[Comparison of clinical and radiological data in the treatment of patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures using radiofrequency kyphoplasty or balloon kyphoplasty].
Since the 1990s, balloon kyphoplasty has been proven as an effective method of treating patients with painful vertebral compression fractures (VCF). The radiofrequency kyphoplasty is an innovative procedure available since 2009, for which an ultra-high viscosity cement is used. For the statistical comparison of the two methods of augmentation, the clinical and radiological data of 2 larger patient groups were evaluated. ⋯ The RFK has proven to be a clinically very effective procedure that does somewhat better than BKP in long-lasting pain relief. No differences could be detected regarding improvement of functioning and the mean restoration of mid- and anterior vertebral height. As far as the safety aspect is concerned the RFK offers the advantage of a statistically significant lower proportion of cement extrusion.