European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
-
Intervertebral vacuum phenomenon (IVP) is mainly seen as a sign of degenerative disc diseases. Although studies have shown that IVP also occurs after traumatic injuries to the spine, its clinical relevance in spinal fractures remains unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence, demographic parameters and fracture morphology in patients with fracture-associated IVP (FAVP) of the thoracolumbar spine. ⋯ FAVP occurred significantly more often in burst fractures and therefore may lead to disc degeneration due to nutritional supply disturbances via the vertebral endplate. As surgical management strategies for burst fractures are intensively discussed, the appearance of FAVP should be taken in consideration.
-
No reference material exists on the scope of long-term problems in novel spinal pain opioid users. In this study, we evaluate the prevalence and long-term use of prescribed opioids in patients of the Spinal Pain Opioid Cohort. ⋯ Diagnostic: individual cross-sectional studies with consistently applied reference standard and blinding.
-
Metastatic epidural spinal cord compression (MESCC) is a debilitating sequela of cancer that results in pain, disability, and neurologic deficits. Surgical techniques have included open surgical (OS) techniques with anterior and/or posterior decompression and fusion procedures. Further technical evolution has led to minimally invasive spinal (MIS) decompression and fusion. The objective of this study is to compare MIS to OS techniques in the treatment of thoracolumbar MESCC. ⋯ MESCC carries significant morbidity and mortality. Surgical approaches for palliative treatment should account for this fact. We conclude that MIS techniques offer a viable alternative to traditional OS approaches with lower overall morbidity and complications.
-
To determine whether abnormalities of the sagittal modifiers (SMs) of the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS)-Schwab classification truly reflect back pain (BP)-specific quality of life (QOL), it is necessary to examine their dose-response relationships and to determine clinically impactful thresholds for declines in BP-specific QOL. This study aimed to analyse the continuous dose-response relationship between each SM and BP-specific QOL. ⋯ PI-LL might be the most sensitive of the three modifiers of the SRS-Schwab classification for determining BP-specific QOL. Moreover, BP-specific QOL worsens rapidly when the compensatory mechanism against malalignment exceeds a critical value. Therefore, we suggest that traditional classifications and surgical strategies should be re-examined regarding the dose-dependent abnormalities of the SMs to develop a more reliable classification strategy.
-
Due to the rarity of diffuse spinal cord astrocytoma, an effective model is still lacking to stratify their prognosis. Here, we aimed to establish a prognostic model through comprehensively evaluating clinicopathological features and preoperative peripheral blood inflammatory markers in 89 cases. ⋯ We successfully constructed a comprehensive prognostic model including preoperative peripheral blood inflammatory markers, which can stratify diffuse spinal cord astrocytoma into 4 subgroups.