European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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Review Meta Analysis
Prevalence of complications in neuromuscular scoliosis surgery: a literature meta-analysis from the past 15 years.
Our objectives were primarily to review the published literature on complications in neuromuscular scoliosis (NMS) surgery and secondarily, by means of a meta-analysis, to determine the overall pooled rates (PR) of various complications associated with NMS surgery. ⋯ NMS patients have diverse and high complication rates after scoliosis surgery. High PRs of complications warrant more attention from the surgical community. Although the PR of all complications are affected by heterogeneity, they nevertheless provide valuable insights into the impact of methodological settings (sample size), patient characteristics (age at surgery), and continual advances in patient care on complication rates.
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Review Comparative Study
A systematic review of comparative studies on bone graft alternatives for common spine fusion procedures.
The increased prevalence of spinal fusion surgery has created an industry focus on bone graft alternatives. While autologous bone graft remains the gold standard, the complications and morbidity from harvesting autologous bone drives the search for reliable and safe bone graft substitutes. With the recent information about the adverse events related to bone morhogenetic protein use, it is appropriate to review the literature about the numerous products that are not solely bone morphogenetic protein. ⋯ The recommendations for use of bone graft substitutes and bone graft extenders are based on the strength of the studies and given a grade.
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The aim of this article has been to analyze the clinical and radiological data suggesting tuberculous vertebral osteomielitis (TVO), and then discuss the steps to be followed to achieve an aetiological diagnosis. ⋯ All patients with subacute inflammatory back or neck pain showing suggestive radiological findings should be studied to rule out TVO. If there is no clear evidence of tuberculosis from another location or indication for surgery, a percutaneous vertebral biopsy should be performed. When TVO is suspected, all spinal or paravertebral tissue samples should be sent simultaneously to pathology and microbiology laboratories for appropriate processing.