The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society
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Postoperative pneumonia has important clinical consequences for both patients and the health-care system. Few studies have examined pneumonia following anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF) procedures. ⋯ Pneumonia occurs in approximately 1 in 200 patients following ACDF procedures. Patients who are older, are functionally dependent, or have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are at greater risk. These patients should be counseled, monitored, and targeted with preventative interventions accordingly. Greater operative duration is also an independent risk factor. Approximately three in four patients who develop pneumonia following hospitalization for ACDF procedures are readmitted. This elevated readmission rate has implications for bundled payments and hospital performance reports.
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Consensus regarding the optimal upper vertebra to be instrumented during surgical treatment of Lenke 5C thoracolumbar and lumbar adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) remains limited. ⋯ The short fusion strategy, which involves instrumentation of the vertebra one level caudal to the upper EV, can be considered as an alternative to the conventional strategy, which includes instrumentation of the upper EV, for treating Lenke 5C curves via anterior spinal fusion.
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Observational Study
Surgical results of metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): analysis of functional outcome, survival time, and complication.
A number of studies have reported favorable surgical results for metastatic spinal tumors from various solid tumors. However, there are few data available on metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) from lung cancer despite its considerable frequency. ⋯ Functional improvements were observed through surgical treatment even with relatively high complication rates for MSCC from NSCLC. Earlier surgical treatment could act as an adjuvant therapy for prolonging survival by improving functional status.
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Imaging modalities used to visualize spinal anatomy intraoperatively include X-ray studies, fluoroscopy, and computed tomography (CT). All of these emit ionizing radiation. ⋯ Intraoperative CT navigation increases the radiation exposure to the patient and reduces the radiation exposure to the surgeon when compared with values reported in the literature. Intraoperative CT navigation improves the accuracy of spine instrumentation with acceptable patient radiation exposure and reduced surgical team exposure. Surgeons should be aware of the implications of radiation exposure to both the patient and the surgical team when using intraoperative CT navigation.
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A double-crush lesion is a condition in which the lumbar nerve is compressed both medially and laterally in the spinal canal, where diagnosis can be very difficult, and is a factor leading to poor surgical success rates. ⋯ Depending on where the nerve was compressed, changes in DTI parameters revealed nerve damage (low FA values and increased ADC) in the intraspinal canal in the Intraspinal Group, and over a widespread area in the Double-crush Group spanning the medial to lateral spinal canal. Our research suggests that in cases where double crush is suspected before surgery, failed back surgery syndrome may be prevented by evaluating DTI images.