Spine
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Prospective cohort study. ⋯ In conclusion, the rate of detecting spondylodiscitis infection was very high if FDG-PET was additionally used. FDG-PET is recommended to distinguish between common Modic change and spinal infection.
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A retrospective review of patients treated at 2 institutions with anterior lumbar interbody fusion using a minimally invasive lateral retroperitoneal approach, and review of literature. ⋯ Current data corroborates and contributes to the existing body of literature describing XLIF outcomes. Procedures are generally performed with short OR times, minimal EBL, and few complications. Patients recover quickly, requiring minimal hospital stay, although transient hip/thigh pain and/or weakness is common. Long-term outcomes are generally favorable, with maintained improvements in patient-reported pain and function scores as well as radiographic parameters, including high rates of fusion.
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Literature review. ⋯ An appropriate SOC as it relates to neuromonitoring is difficult to devise because of national variance with regard to qualifications of neurophysiologic technical and professional personnel, different levels of training and certification, and anesthesia protocols. A unified group of surgeons working in collaboration with a multidisciplinary group of experienced doctoral level nonphysician and physician professional surgical neurophysiologists is needed to define a protocol for providing and interpreting such data. In addition to ensuring that only the most qualified and experienced personnel are delivering and/or interpreting neuromonitoring services, surgeons, hospital administrators, and insurance company medical directors need to understand the different service delivery models and their respective strengths and limitations with particular attention to the qualifications and competencies of all respective parties. Only then can a well-defined SOC be established, thus improving the treatment of surgical patients for whom neuromonitoring is required.