The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society
-
Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating condition with limited treatment options for neurologic or functional recovery. The ability to predict the prognosis of walking post injury with emerging prediction models could aid in rehabilitation strategies and reintegration into the community. ⋯ A simplified predictive model with similar accuracy to a more complex model for predicting independent walking was created, which improves utility in a clinical setting. Such models will allow clinicians to better predict the prognosis of ambulation in individuals who have sustained a traumatic SCI.
-
The incidence of proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) ranges from 5% to 46% following adult spinal deformity surgery. Approximately 66% to 76% of PJK occurs within 3 months of surgery. A subset of these patients, reportedly 26% to 47%, develop proximal junctional failure (PJF) within 6 months postoperatively. To date, there are no studies evaluating the impact of prophylactic vertebroplasty on PJK and PJF incidence at long-term follow-up. ⋯ This long-term follow-up demonstrates that prophylactic vertebroplasty may minimize the risk for junctional failure in the early postoperative period. However, it does not appear to decrease the incidence of PJK at 5 years.
-
Proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) and proximal junctional failure (PJF) are common problems after long-segment (>5 levels) thoracolumbar instrumented fusions in the treatment of adult spinal deformity (ASD). No specific surgical strategy has definitively been shown to lower the risk of PJK as the result of a multifactorial etiology. ⋯ The use of prophylactic vertebral cement augmentation at the UIV and rostral adjacent vertebral segment at the time of deformity correction appears to be preventative in the development of proximal junctional kyphosis and failure.