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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Individuals with neck pain frequently turn to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to seek relief. However, conventional healthcare providers often lack adequate CAM therapy knowledge to deliver informed recommendations to patients. The purpose of this study was to identify mention of CAM in neck pain clinical practice guidelines (CPG) and assess the quality of CAM recommendations using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument. ⋯ Most neck pain CPGs made CAM recommendations. The quality of CAM recommendations is lower than overall recommendations across all domains with the exception of stakeholder involvement. This disparity highlights the need for CAM recommendations quality improvement. Although many patients with neck pain seek CAM therapies, few CPGs are available for healthcare providers and patients.
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Review Case Reports
Neuropathic arthropathy of the shoulder as a presenting feature of Chiari malformation with syringomyelia: a case report with a systematic literature review.
Neuropathic arthropathy (NA) of the shoulder is a chronic progressive process characterized by joint destruction in the presence of a neurosensory deficit. Syringomyelia, a spinal cord disease, is the leading cause of NA in the upper extremity. ⋯ Physicians need to be more aware of this destructive joint disease, rare, and often misdiagnosed. Also, it is imperative to integrate clinical, pathological, and imaging findings for accurate diagnosis and for delivering appropriate therapy.
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Review Meta Analysis
Tranexamic acid dosage for spinal surgery: a meta-analysis.
We conducted this meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to compare the efficacy of different doses of intravenous tranexamic acid (TXA) in spinal surgery. ⋯ Based on the present meta-analysis, compared with the low-dose of intravenous TXA in spinal surgery, the high dose of intravenous TXA decreases the intraoperative blood loss and preserves higher postoperative Hb and HCT levels without increasing the operative time and blood transfusion rate.
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Review Meta Analysis
Effects of chewing gum on gastrointestinal function in patients following spinal surgery: a meta-analysis and systematic review.
There are conflicting opinions regarding the efficacy of chewing gum for the recovery of gastrointestinal function in patients following spinal surgery. Thus, we aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing articles to evaluate the effect of gum-chewing on patients following spinal surgery. ⋯ To a certain extent, masticating gum can promote the recovery of gastrointestinal function and reduce the need for postoperative analgesics in patients following spinal surgery. However, this conclusion is affected by the quantity and quality of the included articles. Therefore, additional high-quality studies are needed to verify these results.
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To determine whether the open or the minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (O-TLIF, MI-TLIF) is the favored treatment, we provide first meta-analyses using prospective studies with at least two years follow-up only and present the clinical relevance of statistical results for the first time. ⋯ After at least two years, O-TLIF and MI-TLIF can be considered equally efficacious, which simplifies surgeons' decision between both treatments, however, with the safety outcome measure postoperative complications per case and the perioperative outcome measures EBL and LOS in favor of MI-TLIF. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE I: Well conducted meta-analyses, systematic reviews, or RCTs with a low risk of bias.