Spine
-
Prospective cohort study. ⋯ The prognosis of strictly defined acute LBP, with or without sciatica, is less favorable than commonly stated in practice guidelines based on failure to return to work. Broad initiatives to develop new means for the primary and secondary prevention of recurrent and chronic LBP are urgently needed.
-
Comparative Study
Can elderly patients recover adequately after laminoplasty?: a comparative study of 520 patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy.
This was a prospective clinical comparative study of surgical outcomes for patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). ⋯ Pre- and postoperative JOA scores were low in elderly patients. However, the achieved JOA score was almost similar among the 3 groups. Thus, elderly patients could obtain reasonable recovery after cervical laminoplasty.
-
A cross-sectional study between subgroups of nonspecific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) and asymptomatic controls. ⋯ Subgroups of NSCLBP had similar neutral spinal position deficits regarding error magnitude and variability, but subclassification revealed clear subgroup differences in the direction of the deficit. The trunk muscle activation was shown to be largely nondiscriminatory between subgroups, with the exception of superficial lumbar multifidus.
-
Retrospective study of computed tomography-guided navigation (CTGN) of thoracic pedicle screw placement in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). ⋯ CTGN resulted in more optimally placed thoracic pedicle screws, fewer potentially unsafe screws, and fewer screw removals.
-
Comparative Study
Primary pyogenic infection of the spine in intravenous drug users: a prospective observational study.
A prospective comparative analysis of surgically-treated nontuberculous primary pyogenic infection of the spine (PPIS). ⋯ There are significant differences in demographics, presentation, treatment and outcomes of primary spinal pyogenic infection between a population of IVDU and a comparable cohort of non-IVDU. The IVDU group presents with cervical quadriplegia while it is the thoracolumbar spine that is almost exclusively involved in the non-IVDU group. Among the IVDUs, surgical management is complex with a high incidence of early hardware failure. SSI is significantly more common among non-IVDU. Significant neurological improvement can be expected in the majority of IVDU patients with a high mortality rate among the non-IVDU. IVDU are unreliable patients and in-hospital, in-halo incarceration is recommended where possible.