Spine
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Systematic review. ⋯ The available evidence does not support the efficacy or effectiveness of percutaneous thermocoagulation intradiscal techniques for the treatment of discogenic low back pain.
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Validation study to define validity and reliability of an adapted and translated questionnaire. ⋯ Both cultural adaptation and linguistic translation are essential in any attempt to use a HRQL questionnaire across cultures. The Chinese version of the SRS-22 outcome instrument has satisfactory internal consistency and excellent reproducibility. It is ready for use in clinical studies on idiopathic scoliosis in Chinese-speaking societies.
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Pedicle screw pullout testing in osteoporotic and control human cadaveric vertebrae, comparing augmented and control vertebrae. ⋯ Pedicle screw augmentation with polymethyl methacrylate improves the initial fixation strength and fatigue strength of instrumentation in osteoporotic vertebrae. Pedicle screws augmented using the kyphoplasty technique had significantly greater pullout strength than those augmented with transpedicular augmentation technique and those placed in healthy control vertebrae with no augmentation.
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Review Case Reports
Recurrent radiculopathy caused by epidural gas after spinal surgery: report of four cases and literature review.
The article presents and discusses 4 cases in which symptomatic epidural gas developed after different surgeries on the lumbar spine. ⋯ Epidural gas after lumbar surgery is very rare but can cause unexpected postoperative back or radicular pain. Combined computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging should be used to identify the problem and rule out other disorders. Conservative treatment should be the first-line approach but surgery is often necessary if this does not resolve the problem.
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Clinical Trial
Dorsal root entry zone lesions for treatment of pain-related to radiation-induced plexopathy.
Case series. ⋯ The present results suggest that the trigeminal nucleotractotomy and dorsal root entry zone lesions in cervical spinal cord are an effective procedure for the treatment of pain associated with actinic peripheral neuropathy.