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
-
In 2017, the GAP score was proposed as a tool to reduce mechanical complications (MC) in adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery: the reported MC rate for the GAP proportioned category was only 6%, which is clearly lower to the MC rate reported in the literature. The aim of this study is to analyse if the most recent literature confirms the promising results of the original article. ⋯ The actual literature does not corroborate the excellent results reported by the original GAP score article. Further prospective studies, possibly stratified by type of MC and type of surgery, are necessary to validate this score.
-
To describe health-related quality of life in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis and controls. ⋯ Adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis had a reduced HRQoL compared to healthy controls. Minor differences were detected when comparing between idiopathic scoliosis treatment groups. Non-surgically treated scoliosis patients with larger curves had a lower HRQoL shown by lower SRS-22r values.
-
Erector spinae plane block (ESPB) has gained popularity over recent years and is being increasingly used in spine surgery for pain management. To date, no major neurological complications have been reported. We present here two patients who developed transient postoperative paraplegia and discuss the possible causes of this phenomenon. ⋯ Transient paraplegia following ESPB (due to anterior spread of the local anesthetic agent into the epidural space) has never been reported, and both anesthetists and surgeons must be aware of this possible complication.
-
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.
-
An online randomised experiment found that the labels lumbar sprain, non-specific low back pain (LBP), and episode of back pain reduced perceived need for imaging, surgery and second opinions compared to disc bulge, degeneration, and arthritis among 1447 participants with and without LBP. They also reduced perceived seriousness of LBP and increased recovery expectations. ⋯ Our results suggest that clinicians should consider avoiding the labels disc bulge, degeneration and arthritis and opt for labels that are associated with positive beliefs and less preference for surgery, when communicating with patients with LBP.