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
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Observational Study
Pedicle screw placement safety with the aid of patient-specific guides in a case series of patients with thoracic scoliosis.
Pedicle screw (PS) placement in thoracic scoliotic deformities can be challenging due to altered vertebral anatomy; malposition can result in severe functional disability or inferior construct stability. Three-dimensional (3D) printed patient-specific guides (PSGs) have been recently used to supplement other PS placement techniques. We conducted a single-center, retrospective observational study to assess the accuracy of PS placement using PSGs in a consecutive case series of pediatric and adult patients with thoracic scoliosis. ⋯ The accuracy of PS placement using patient-specific 3D templates in our case series exceeds the accuracies of established thoracic PS placement techniques.
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Review Meta Analysis
Preoperative epidural steroid injections do not increase the risk of postoperative infection in patients undergoing lumbar decompression or fusion: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Epidural corticosteroid injections (ESI) are a mainstay of nonoperative treatment for patients with lumbar spine pathology. Recent literature evaluating infection risk following ESI after elective orthopedic surgery has produced conflicting evidence. Our primary objective was to review the literature and provide a larger meta-analysis analyzing the temporal effects of steroid injections on the risk of infection following lumbar spine surgery. ⋯ II.
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Primary sacral tumors are rare, representing fewer than 7% of spinal neoplasms. Following total sacrectomy, lumbopelvic instrumentation and fusion carries a high risk of non-union with no current consensus on fixation techniques to augment bony defects. We aim to describe the outcome of a reconstruction technique following total sacrectomy whereby lumbopelvic shortening is performed and the posterior pelvic ring is compressed to enable contact with the native L5 vertebra. ⋯ Primary lumbopelvic shortening represents an alternative local autograft reconstructive technique for management of large sacral defects following total sacrectomy. This technique obviates the additional morbidity and surgical cost associated with the use of previously described techniques.
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Review Meta Analysis
Cervical immobilization in trauma patients: soft collars better than rigid collars? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Rigid cervical spine following trauma immobilization is recommended to reduce neurological disability and provide spinal stability. Soft collars have been proposed as a good alternative because of the complications related to rigid collars. The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review on soft and rigid collars in the prehospital management of cervical trauma. ⋯ II, Systematic Review.
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Multiple diverse factors contribute to musculoskeletal pain, a major cause of physical dysfunction and health-related costs worldwide. Rapidly growing evidence demonstrates that the gut microbiome has overarching influences on human health and the body's homeostasis and resilience to internal and external perturbations. This broad role of the gut microbiome is potentially relevant and connected to musculoskeletal pain, though the literature on the topic is limited. Thus, the literature on the topic of musculoskeletal pain and gut microbiome was explored. ⋯ The review highlights noticeable connections between the gut and musculoskeletal health, thus warranting future research to focus on the gut microbiome's role in musculoskeletal conditions.