The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society
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Progressive scoliosis alters lung function by reducing chest wall compliance and excursion and rotating intrathoracic contents, producing an increasingly asymmetric lung size. The effect of this distortion on regional lung perfusion and ventilation has not been described in children with congenital and infantile forms of scoliosis. The severity of scoliosis is often described by the Cobb angle of the spine, but the relationship between Cobb angle and lung function asymmetry between concave and convex lungs has not been described in this group of children. ⋯ Asymmetric ventilation and perfusion between the right and left lungs occurs in more than half of the children with severe congenital and infantile thoracic scoliosis. However, the severity of lung function asymmetry does not relate to Cobb angle measurements. Asymmetry in lung function is influenced by deformity of the chest wall in multiple dimensions, and cannot be ascertained by chest radiographs alone.
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The study is a prospective observational study of 48 continuous patients with symptomatic lumbar degenerative disk disease. Each patient underwent discography, MRI, and a biochemical analysis of disk lavage fluid. ⋯ There are only weak correlations between demographic, discogram, and radiographic variables. Response to discogram cannot be predicted by non-invasive means. The disk lavage method was unable to identify the presence of specific inflammatory peptides with multi-plex immunoassays and ELISA.
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Spinal instrumentation is accompanied by various problems, including screw malpositioning. One way of preventing this is the employment of intraoperative biplanar fluoroscopy. However, screw malpositioning despite the use of fluoroscopy has been reported, and exposure to radiation is another burden of this method. Therefore, the purpose of this article was to compare the results of instrumentation applications without using scopy versus the harmful effects of radiation exposed during spinal instrumentation. ⋯ Screw application without fluoroscopy is performed with calculation of all essential anatomic details, and because of the reduction of surgery time, the absence of exposure to radiation, and very low infection rates as a consequence of reduced surgery time, it is a method recommendable for surgeons experienced with screw placement. Besides, its malpositioning rates are within acceptable limits. Because screw malpositioning is also found after biplanar fluoroscopy, the prevention of screw malpositioning requires knowing the anatomic landmarks accurately.
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Cervical traction has a long history as a method of conservative treatment for cervical spine diseases. However, information on quantitative changes in the cervical neural foramen resulting from axial traction in vivo is lacking. ⋯ There was a significant increase in intervertebral foraminal area and height after each 5-kg increment in traction weight compared with the position in which no weight was applied. From 10 to 15 kg of traction, there was no significant change in the foraminal area and height.
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Injuries at the cervicothoracic junction are common in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. These injuries present challenges for both initial and follow-up imagings. ⋯ Cervicothoracic injuries are common in patients with ankylosing spondylitis and may be difficult to follow with conventional imaging techniques. Stand-up MRI is a relatively new modality that may offer significant advantages over conventional imaging because of the ability to evaluate the cervicothoracic junction in a more functional position and the lack of a confining space such as that found in standard MRI units.