The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society
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Multicenter Study
Reliability and validity of the adapted Dutch version of the revised Scoliosis Research Society 22-item questionnaire.
As in other fields of medicine, there is an increasing interest among orthopedic surgeons to measure health-related quality of life in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients and to evaluate the burden of disease and the effectiveness of different treatment strategies. The development of the revised Scoliosis Research Society 22-item patient questionnaire (SRS-22r) enabled a comprehensive evaluation of health-related quality of life of these patients. Over the years, the SRS-22r gained wide acceptance and has been used in several different countries, languages, and cultures. The SRS-22r has not been translated into Dutch to date. ⋯ The Dutch SRS-22r had the properties needed for the measurement of patient perceived health-related quality of life of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients in the Netherlands. The Dutch SRS-22r could be used for the longitudinal follow-up of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients from adolescence to adulthood and for establishing the effects of conservative or invasive surgical treatment.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Factor analysis of the North American Spine Society outcome assessment instrument: a study based on a spine registry of patients treated with lumbar and cervical disc arthroplasty.
Studies involving factor analysis (FA) of the items in the North American Spine Society (NASS) outcome assessment instrument have revealed inconsistent factor structures for the individual items. ⋯ The best-fitting factor structure at both baseline and FU was selected for both the lumbar- and cervical-NASS questionnaires. It differed from that proposed by the originators of the NASS instruments. Although the NASS questionnaire represents a valid outcome measure for degenerative spine diseases, it is able to distinguish among all major symptom domains (factors) in patients undergoing lumbar and cervical disc arthroplasty; overall, the item structure could be improved. Any potential revision of the NASS should consider its factorial structure; factorial invariance over time should be aimed for, to allow for more precise interpretations of treatment success.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Predicting medical complications after spine surgery: a validated model using a prospective surgical registry.
The possibility and likelihood of a postoperative medical complication after spine surgery undoubtedly play a major role in the decision making of the surgeon and patient alike. Although prior study has determined relative risk and odds ratio values to quantify risk factors, these values may be difficult to translate to the patient during counseling of surgical options. Ideally, a model that predicts absolute risk of medical complication, rather than relative risk or odds ratio values, would greatly enhance the discussion of safety of spine surgery. To date, there is no risk stratification model that specifically predicts the risk of medical complication. ⋯ We present a validated model for predicting medical complications after spine surgery. The value in this model is that it gives the user an absolute percent likelihood of complication after spine surgery based on the patient's comorbidity profile and invasiveness of surgery. Patients are far more likely to understand an absolute percentage, rather than relative risk and confidence interval values. A model such as this is of paramount importance in counseling patients and enhancing the safety of spine surgery. In addition, a tool such as this can be of great use particularly as health care trends toward pay-for-performance, quality metrics, and risk adjustment. To facilitate the use of this model, we have created a website (SpineSage.com) where users can enter in patient data to determine likelihood of medical complications after spine surgery.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Differences in early sagittal plane alignment between thoracic and lumbar adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
It has previously been shown that rotational stability of spinal segments is reduced by posteriorly directed shear loads that are the result of gravity and muscle tone. Posterior shear loads act on those segments of the spine that are posteriorly inclined, as determined by each individual's inherited sagittal spinal profile. Accordingly, it can be inferred that certain sagittal spinal profiles are more prone to develop a rotational deformity that may lead to idiopathic scoliosis; and lumbar scoliosis, on one end of the spectrum, develops from a different sagittal spinal profile than thoracic scoliosis on the other end. ⋯ This study demonstrates that even at an early stage in the condition, the sagittal profile of thoracic adolescent idiopathic scoliosis differs significantly from lumbar scoliosis, and both types of scoliosis differ from controls, but in different aspects. This supports the theory that differences in underlying sagittal profile play a role in the development of different types of idiopathic scoliosis.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Back pain's association with vertebral end-plate signal changes in sciatica.
Patients with sciatica frequently experience disabling back pain. One of the proposed causes for back pain is vertebral end-plate signal changes (VESC) as visualized by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). ⋯ In this study, undergoing surgery for sciatica was highly associated with the development of VESC after 1 year. However, in contrast with the intuitive feeling of spine specialists, those with and those without VESC reported disabling back pain in nearly the same proportion. Therefore, VESC does not seem to be responsible for disabling back pain in patients with sciatica.