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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Review Meta Analysis
Balloon kyphoplasty versus percutaneous vertebroplasty in treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture: grading the evidence through a systematic review and meta-analysis.
To assess the safety and efficacy of balloon kyphoplasty (KP) compared with percutaneous vertebroplasty (VP) and provide recommendations for using these procedures to treat osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF). ⋯ KP and VP are both safe and effective surgical procedures for treating OVCF. KP may be superior to VP in patients with large kyphosis angles, vertebral fissures, fractures in the posterior edge of the vertebral body or significant height loss in the fractured vertebrae. Due to the poor quality of the evidence currently available, high-quality RCTs are required.
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Review Meta Analysis
Prevalence of heterotopic ossification after cervical total disc arthroplasty: a meta-analysis.
Heterotopic ossification (HO) is a well-known complication after total hip and knee arthroplasty. But limited studies have focused on prevalence of HO following cervical total disc arthroplasty (CTDA) and the published data show controversial results. ⋯ Prognostic level III.
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Review Meta Analysis
Trends over time in the size and quality of randomised controlled trials of interventions for chronic low-back pain.
Previous reviews of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for low-back pain (LBP) have failed to identify any positive trend in study quality with more recent years of publication. This study aimed to identify and describe trends over time in the study design characteristics and risk of bias in chronic LBP trials performed over the past 30 years. ⋯ The continuing uncertainty regarding the efficacy of many interventions for chronic LBP again stresses the need for large RCTs with low risk of bias. Further research is needed into specific risks of bias within the RCTs for chronic LBP and the effect they have on the plausibility of the results.
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Review Meta Analysis
Efficacy of exercise therapy for the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a review of the literature.
Current evidence regarding the use of exercise therapy in the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) was assessed with a review of published literature. ⋯ This unbiased literature review has revealed poor quality evidence supporting the use of exercise therapy in the treatment of AIS. Well-designed randomised controlled studies are required to assess the role of exercise therapy in AIS.
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Review Meta Analysis
Transforaminal injection of corticosteroids for lumbar radiculopathy: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Transforaminal epidural injection of steroids is used to treat lumbar radicular pain. However, there are only a few well-designed randomized, controlled studies on the effectiveness of steroid injection. ⋯ The current meta-analysis shows that transforaminal epidural steroid injections, when appropriately performed, should result in an improvement in pain, but not disability. The three RCTs that followed patients to 3 months (and the single study to 12 months) have found no benefit by the addition of steroids. The limitations of this study include the paucity of the available literature.