The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society
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Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) using harvested local bone inserted into a polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cage is a commonly used procedure, but the accurate fusion rate of a cage, cage to bone contact area ratio, and the changes in fusion rate with time after surgery are unknown. ⋯ The fusion rate of the PEEK cage used in PLIF measured at 12 months was higher than that measured at 6 months. Therefore, an assessment on the complete fusion of local bone at 12 months after surgery is more accurate.
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Treatment guidelines suggest that most acute low back pain (LBP) episodes substantially improve within a few weeks and that immediate use of imaging and aggressive therapies should be avoided. ⋯ Contrary to clinical guidelines, many patients with LBP start incurring significant resource use and associated expenses soon after the index diagnosis. Achieving guideline-concordant care will require substantial changes in LBP practice patterns.
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Hemangiopericytoma (HPC) occurs infrequently in the central nervous system. Spinal involvement is particularly uncommon; and intradural localization is rare. Here, we describe an intradural extramedullary thoracic HPC that went undiagnosed initially on computed tomography scan of the abdomen. ⋯ The standard treatment for HPC is surgery when the lesion is resectable. Despite gross total resection, there is still a high risk of recurrence and metastasis; therefore, patients should be followed up closely by their physicians with serial postoperative clinical examinations and radiographic imaging.