Spine
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This retrospective, questionnaire-based investigation evaluated iliac crest bone graft (ICBG) site morbidity in patients having undergone a single-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) procedure performed by a single surgeon (T.J.A.). ⋯ A large percentage of patients report chronic donor site pain after anterior ICBG donation, even when only a single-level ACDF procedure is performed. Moreover, long-term functional impairment can also be significant. Patients should be counseled regarding these potential problems, and alternative sources of graft material should be considered.
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Initial assessment involved 360 patients (90% women and 10% men) attending spinal and internal medicine clinics over a 6-year period who had experienced low back pain that had no obvious cause for more than 6 months. The patients ranged in age from 15 to 52 years. ⋯ Vitamin D deficiency is a major contributor to chronic low back pain in areas where vitamin D deficiency is endemic. Screening for vitamin D deficiency and treatment with supplements should be mandatory in this setting. Measurement of serum 25-OH cholecalciferol is sensitive and specific for detection of vitamin D deficiency, and hence for presumed osteomalacia in patients with chronic low back pain.
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Comparative Study
Factors associated with improved neurologic outcomes in patients with incomplete tetraplegia.
Retrospective review of 412 patients with traumatic, incomplete, cervical spinal cord injuries, and an average follow-up period of 2 years. ⋯ The most important prognostic variable relating to neurologic recovery in a patient with a spinal cord injury is the completeness of the lesion. When an incomplete cervical spinal cord lesion exists, younger patients and those with either a central cord or Brown-Sequard syndrome have a more favorable prognosis for recovery. In this study, no evidence was found to support high-dose steroid administration, routine early surgical intervention, or surgical decompression in stenotic patients without fracture.
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Comparative Study
Discrimination validity of the scoliosis research society-22 patient questionnaire: relationship to idiopathic scoliosis curve pattern and curve size.
Prospective observational study. ⋯ The SRS-22 HRQL questionnaire successfully discriminated among persons with no scoliosis or moderate scoliosis and large scoliosis. It did not discriminate among patients with single, double, or triple curves. Self-image and, to a lesser extent, pain and function domain scores correlated with radiographic and trunk asymmetry severity. The SRS-22 HRQL questionnaire may be useful in choosing nonsurgical versus surgical treatment in borderline cases.
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Comparative Study
Pseudoarthrosis of the cervical spine: a comparison of radiographic diagnostic measures.
A retrospective review was conducted. ⋯ Measurement of the change in distance between spinous processes is more reproducible and accurate than the Cobb method for making the diagnosis of pseudarthrosis. The authors believe that the measurement of distances between spinous processes on lateral flexion-extension radiographs should be used as a method for evaluating radiographic fusion in patients with pseudarthrosis.