Spine
-
A retrospective review of spinal deformity in patients with congenital heart disease surgically treated through a median sternotomy before the age of 8 years. Assessment was done on chest roentgenograms at skeletal maturity. ⋯ There is a high prevalence of scoliosis in patients with congenital heart disease surgically treated through a median sternotomy. The prevalence of scoliosis increases in patients operated at an earlier age.
-
Case Reports Randomized Controlled Trial
A prospective evaluation of anesthesia for posterior lumbar spine fusion: the effectiveness of preoperative epidural anesthesia with morphine.
A prospective, randomized, single-blinded study. ⋯ To combine preoperative epidural anesthesia with other anesthetic procedure for spinal fusion contributes to maintain more stable hypotension during surgery. As a result, it will be possible to lessen the bleeding during surgery. In addition, the postoperative pain was easily controlled with administration of fewer analgesic agents in patients who underwent the epidural anesthesia. The effectiveness of pre-emptive analgesia should be emphasized to diminish the postoperative pain.
-
Comparative Study
Biomechanical comparison of transarticular facet screws to lateral mass plates in two-level instrumentations of the cervical spine.
In vitro biomechanical comparison of transarticular facet screws to lateral mass plates in two level instrumentations of the cervical spine. ⋯ This study proves that transarticular facet screws and lateral mass plates are equivalent in two-level instrumentations of the cervical spine. This is the first biomechanical study to test transarticular facet screws in this context.
-
Inception cohort study. ⋯ During a period of 3 months, 24% of the patients had not recovered. Psychological factors and neurological signs were strongly associated with nonrecovery at 3 months. In addition to the traditional examination of neurological symptoms and signs, psychological factors should be considered already at the initial visit of an episode of low back pain.
-
A systematic review. ⋯ It is impossible to define a generic set of predictors of outcome of multidisciplinary rehabilitation and back schools for patients with chronic low back pain because the reviewed studies were descriptive or exploratory in nature, and most predictors were only studied once. Nevertheless, for several predictors, consistent evidence was found. Large confirmatory studies are needed to test the value of these predictors.