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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Spinal tuberculosis (STB) and Brucella spondylitis (BS) represent two types of granulomatous infections affecting the spine, which exhibit significant similarities that often result in misdiagnosis and overlooked diagnoses during preoperative evaluations. This study aims to identify non-invasive evaluative indicators that facilitate the differentiation between STB and BS. ⋯ Statistically significant differences were observed between STB and BS regarding root symptoms and necrosis formation. In cases where the patient is male, presents with a decreased A/G ratio, does not have thoracic vertebra involvement, number of vertebral body destructions < 2.5, and exhibits straightening of spinal curvature, the likelihood of diagnosing BS is significantly greater than that of STB.
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Adjacent vertebral fracture (AVF) is a frequent complication following percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA). While radiomics is widely utilized in the field of spinal medicine, its application for assessing the risk of AVF in post-PVA patients remains limited. ⋯ Radiomics and machine learning modeling using postoperative CT images demonstrate noteworthy capability in assessing the risk of AVF following PVA.
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Although idiopathic scoliosis is a common three-dimensional deformity, there is a lack of studies evaluating the associations between the aortic-vertebral distance (AVD) and spinal deformities in all planes. The study therefore aimed to evaluate how the coronal and sagittal curvature, vertebral rotation and aortic-vertebral angle (AVA) affect the AVD in idiopathic scoliosis. ⋯ The shortest distance from the aortic wall to the vertebral body wall is primarily influenced by vertebral rotation and the AVA within the thoracic curve. Thus, these factors need to be taken into consideration when planning pedicle screw placement especially in freehand techniques.
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There is a growing interest in using computed tomography (CT) scans to opportunistically assess bone mineral density via Hounsfield units (HU). Previous studies have shown lower HU in patients with vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) and that HU can predict pre-existing VCFs. This study evaluated whether HU from CT scans can predict the number of prevalent VCFs. ⋯ HU from CT scans can predict the presence and number of VCFs.