BACKGROUND:Various operative techniques are used for treating recurrent anterior shoulder instability, and good mid-term results have been reported. The purpose of this study was to compare shoulder ...stability after treatment with the 2 commonly performed procedures, the arthroscopic Bankart soft-tissue repair and the open coracoid transfer according to Latarjet.
METHODS:A comparative, retrospective case-cohort analysis of 360 patients (364 shoulders) who had primary repair for recurrent anterior shoulder instability between 1998 and 2007 was performed. The minimum duration of follow-up was 6 years. Reoperations, overt recurrent instability (defined as recurrent dislocation or subluxation), apprehension, the subjective shoulder value (SSV), sports participation, and overall satisfaction were recorded.
RESULTS:An open Latarjet procedure was performed in 93 shoulders, and an arthroscopic Bankart repair was done in 271 shoulders. Instability or apprehension persisted or recurred after 11% (10) of the 93 Latarjet procedures and after 41.7% (113) of the 271 arthroscopic Bankart procedures. Overt instability recurred after 3% of the Latarjet procedures and after 28.4% (77) of the Bankart procedures. In the Latarjet group, 3.2% of the patients were not satisfied with their result compared with 13.2% in the Bankart group (p = 0.007). Kaplan-Meier analysis of survivorship, with apprehension (p < 0.001), redislocation (p = 0.01), and operative revision (p < 0.001) as the end points, documented the substantial superiority of the Latarjet procedure and the decreasing effectiveness of the arthroscopic Bankart repair over time. Twenty percent of the first recurrences after arthroscopic Bankart occurred no earlier than 91 months postoperatively, as opposed to the rare recurrences after osseous reconstruction, which occurred in the early postoperative period, with only rare late failures.
CONCLUSIONS:In this retrospective cohort study, the arthroscopic Bankart procedure was inferior to the open Latarjet procedure for repair of recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation. The difference between the 2 procedures with respect to the quality of outcomes significantly increased with follow-up time.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the addition of computed tomography (CT) to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) improves the accuracy of classifying osteoporotic vertebral body ...fractures (OVBF).
A retrospective analysis of a prospective single-center database has been performed. All consecutive patients who had suffered an acute thoracolumbar OVBF in one level II spine center between 2017 and 2019 were analyzed. Thereby, fractures of type OF 1 and OF 5 were excluded. All fractures were initially classified by 5 board-certified orthopaedic surgeons based on MRI and conventional radiographs. Afterwards a reclassification including CT scans were performed. Differences in OF classification and OF score values between both measurements were analyzed.
A total of 61 patients were analyzed with a mean age 75.8 years (SD: 8.8 years). In 82.9% of the cases, there was no difference in OF classification comparing classification based only on MRI versus MRI + CT. A difference of more than two OF types was observed in less than 1% of all ratings. The inter-rater reliabilities of the OF classification based on CT + MRI and MRI alone were 0.63 and 0.49, respectively. In 97.5% of the cases there was no therapy-relevant difference of the treatment recommendation with respect of a surgical or nonoperative treatment recommendation based on the OF score.
In terms of the OF classification and the OF score, the addition of CT add limited value compared to conventional radiographs and MRI only. Additionally, there is only a minor rate of disagreement in treatment recommendations when adding a CT.
Spinal fusion is a well-established procedure in the treatment of degenerative spinal diseases. Previous research shows that the use of this operative treatment has been growing in recent decades in ...industrialized countries and has become one of the most cost-intensive surgical procedures. It seems that in some countries such as Germany-with its large, industrialized, European population-this increase is mainly driven by demographic changes with low fertility rates, increasing life expectancy, and an aging population. Based on current projections, however, Germany faces a population trend that many other countries are likely to follow within a few decades. An increasingly shrinking and aging working population may eventually put the healthcare system under enormous pressure, with greater demands for spinal fusions and associated higher costs. Thus, we aimed to provide reliable projections regarding the future demand for posterior spinal fusion procedures including age- and gender-related trends up to 2060, which will be necessary for future resource planning and possible improvements in actual treatment strategies.
(1) How is the use of posterior spinal fusions in Germany expected to change from 2019 through 2060, if currents trends continue? (2) How is the use of posterior spinal fusions in Germany expected to change depending on patients' age and gender during this time period?
Comprehensive nationwide data provided by the Federal Statistical Office, the official institution for documenting all data on operations and procedures performed in Germany, were used to quantify posterior spinal fusion rates as a function of calendar year, age, and gender. Because there is a lack of evidence regarding future trends in the use of posterior spinal fusions, an autoregressive integrated moving average model on historical procedure rates from 2005 to 2019 in relation to official population projections from 2020 to 2060 was chosen to forecast future absolute numbers and incidence rates of this procedure in Germany. Long-term forecasting is more prone to unexpected disruptions than forecasting over short-term periods; however, longer spans facilitate estimates of how trends may challenge future healthcare systems if those trends continue, and thus are useful for research and planning.
The incidence rate of posterior spinal fusion was projected to increase by approximately 83% (95% CI 28% to 139%) to 102% per 100,000 inhabitants (95% CI 71% to 133%) in 2060, with a 1.3-fold higher rate of women undergoing surgery in terms of absolute numbers. The highest increase identified by the model occurred in patients 75 years and older with 38,974 (95% CI 27,294 to 50,653) posterior spinal fusions in 2060, compared with 14,657 in 2019. This trend applied for both women and men, with a 246% (95% CI 138% to 355%) increase in the total number of posterior spinal fusions for women 75 years and older and a 296% (95% CI 222% to 370%) increase for men 75 years and older. At the same time, posterior spinal fusions in all age groups younger than 55 years were projected to follow a constant or even negative trend up to 2060.
Our findings suggest that increasing use of posterior spinal fusion, particularly in patients 75 years and older, will challenge healthcare systems worldwide if current trends persist. This study may serve as a model for many other industrialized countries facing similar demographic and procedure-specific developments in the future. This emphasizes the need to focus on frailty research as well as appropriate financial and human resource management. Effective perioperative medical management, multidisciplinary treatment, and interinstitutional protocols are warranted, especially in older patients as we attempt to manage these trends in the future.
Level III, economic and decision analysis.
•Biomechanical simulation of axial force induction testing C1/2 Harms Construct.•Lateral Mass screws construct resulted from 142.04 µm/m to 188.54 µm/m.•Pedicle screws construct resulted from ...165.98 µm/m to 195.95 µm/m.•Pedicle screws in a C1/2 Harms Construct were not superior compared to lateral mass screws.
The use of the posterior arch of C1 as pedicle has shown beneficial stability regarding screw loosening, however, the C1 pedicle screw placement is challenging. Therefore, the study aimed to analyse the bending forces of the Harms construct used in fixation of C1/C2 when using pedicle screws compared to lateral mass screws.
Five cadaveric specimens with a mean age of 72 years at death and bone mineral density measuring for 512.4 Hounsfield Units (HU) on average were used. A custom-made biomechanical setup was used to test the specimens with a C1/C2 Harms construct each with the use of lateral mass screws and pedicle screws in sequence. Strain gauges were used to analyse the bending forces from C1 to C2 in cyclic axial compression (μm/m). All underwent cyclic biomechanical testing using 50, 75 and 100 N.
In all specimens, placement of lateral mass screws and pedicle screws was feasible. All underwent cyclic biomechanical testing. For the lateral mass screw, a bending of 142.04 µm/m at 50 N, 166.56 µm/m at 75 N and 188.54 µm/m at 100 N was measured. For the pedicle screws, bending force was slightly elevated with 165.98 µm/m at 50 N, 190.58 µm/m at 75 N and 195.95 µm/m at 100 N. However, bending forces did not vary significantly. In all measurements, no statistical significance was found when comparing pedicle screws and lateral mass screws.
The lateral mass screw used in the Harms Construct to stabilize C1/2 showed less bending forces, therefore the construct with lateral mass screws appears more stable in axial compression compared to the one with pedicle screws. However, bending forces did not vary significantly.
Vertebral body replacement is a common surgical procedure for treatment of disorders associated with spinal instability. Therefore, pedicle screws are usually inserted in adjacent vertebrae for ...stabilization of the posterior column, however, there is lack of evidence whether implantation of index-level pedicle screws is beneficial or not. This biomechanical study aims to investigate the effect of pedicle screw instrumentation on axial stability following vertebral body replacement.
Unstable fracture at L3 level was simulated in lumbar spines from six human cadaveric specimens. Then instrumentation was performed one level above / one level below index level in three specimens and further, three specimens were instrumented at index-level (L3) additionaly. Then we used a testing protocol for biomechanical evaluation of axial loading on human cadaveric lumbar spines until cage subsidence occurred.
Our results show that index-level instrumented spines endured significantly higher load until cage subsidence occurred compared to non-index-level instrumented specimens (p = 0.05).
Our results demonstrate pedicle screw instrumentation at index-level vertebra should be considered when possbile as it may have a protective effect against cage subsidence in patients undergoing vertebral body replacement surgery.
•Biomechanical testing of axial loading after vertebral body replacement.•Index-level instrumented spines endured significantly higher load than without.•Index-level pedicle screw instrumentation significantly increases axial loading capability.
Objective
Pyogenic spondylodiscitis is a severe medical condition, often requiring surgical intervention. Numerous risk factors are known, such as obesity, neurological impairment and old age. ...In-hospital mortality remains high, therefore other factors may be contributing to the increased mortality. To evaluate kidney function as a risk factor for increased morbidity of pyogenic spondylodiscitis, the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was correlated with the patients' clinical course.
Materials and methods
We retrospectively reviewed the cases of 366 patients and 255 were included for analysis. Clinical, laboratory and surgical data were recorded with a minimum follow-up of three months. For clinical outcome measurement, mortality, length of stay and perioperative complications were analysed.
Results
The study included 255 patients (173 men, 82 women; mean age 66.3 years). Patients with a GFR < 59 mL/min spent an average of 5 days longer in the hospital than those with a GFR ≥ 60 mL/min (
p
= 0.071). The mortality rate increased significantly with a decrease in GFR: A GFR of 30–59 mL/min had a mortality rate of 17.6%, whereas a GFR of < 29 mL/min had one of 30.4% (
p
= 0.003). Patients with impaired GFR showed an increased rate of postoperative complications (OR 4.7
p
= 0.002) and higher rate of intensive care unit (ICU) stay (OR 8.7
p
= < 0.001).
Discussion
Preoperative GFR values showed a significant correlation with in-hospital mortality in patients with spondylodiscitis, when graded according to the KDIGO stages. Furthermore, a GFR of < 29 ml/mL contributes to a longer ICU stay, postoperative complications and a longer total hospital stay. Therefore, the preoperative GFR could be a marker of kidney function and as a valuable predictive risk factor regarding the clinical in-hospital course of patients suffering from pyogenic spondylodiscitis.
•Intervertebral disc degenerations and herniations represent multifactorial events and various risk factors.•Smoking, family disposition, gender, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and cardio-vascular ...comorbidities emerged as the most significant risk factors.•Assessing and managing the risk factors through lifestyle modifications and targeted interventions may reduce the risk of developing or worsening lumbar disc problems.
Back pain is a very widespread disease pattern and is one of the most frequent causes for consultation of a physician in general. In most cases, discogenic changes are the pathomorphological correlate of back pain. Numerous risk factors have been identified for these degenerative changes, but the influence and significance of the risk factors remain unclear, which was the aim of this systematic review.
A systematic literature search of the commonly used Pubmed database was performed using specific MESH terms. Further selection of the included studies was performed according to the PRISMA scheme, taking into account scientific merit as well as the relation to the research question.
A total of 111 studies out of 1035 found were finally included in the literature search. 134 risk factors for disc degeneration and disc herniation were identified. These were divided into (1) patient-specific risk factors (n░=░34), (2) radiological risk factors (n░=░31), (3) lifestyle risk factors (n░=░6), (4) workplace-related risk factors (n░=░12), (5) genetic risk factors (n░=░50), and (6) other risk factors (n░=░1). Non-adjustable risk factors were age >50 years (OR 1.7/year), female gender (OR 1.41), family disposition (OR 4.0), comorbidities like atherosclerosis (OR 2.24), arthritic changes in other joints (OR 3.1) and history of injuries of the back (OR 3.1). Adjustable factors were elevated BMI (OR 2.77), comorbidities like hypertension (OR 1.25), dyslipidemia (OR 1.26) and diabetes mellitus (OR 6.8), as well as lifestyle habits like smoking (OR 3.8).
In summary, intervertebral disc degenerations and herniations represent multifactorial events whose risk factors can be partly influenced and partly not influenced. This systematic review highlights the current state of knowledge as a basis for creating patient-specific algorithms to calculate risk for the development or progression of degenerative disc changes and disc herniations.
Surgical site infection (SSI) is a severe complication of spinal surgery, which typically results in prolonged length of hospital stay, an increased number of revision surgeries, re-hospitalizations, ...worse clinical functional outcomes, and increased healthcare costs. The aim of the present study was to analyse if the duration of surgery can predict the spectrum of pathogens causing SSI in orthopaedic spine surgery.
We conducted a retrospective study over a period of two years at the University Hospital of Cologne in which all patients with postoperative surgical site infections were included. In addition to descriptive characteristics (such as sex, age, BMI), the duration of the surgery, the administration of intra-operative antibiotics, the main diagnosis, the postoperative course of the infection parameters (CRP & WBC) and the responsible pathogens were analysed.
A total of 75 patients were included with a median age of 64 years. The mean time of operation time was 131.52±70.91 min (range=23-285 min). The most frequently isolated germs in the postoperative blood culture were S. aureus (n=7), S. haemolyticus and S. hominis (n=2). There was a significant correlation between the duration of the primary surgical intervention and the postoperatively detected pathogens (p=0.002).
A significant correlation was shown between the duration of surgery and the species of pathogens detected causing postoperative SSI. The use of perioperative antibiotics, the use of longer-lasting antibiotics or the repeated intravenous administration of prophylactic antibiotics should be evaluated.
Introduction
Procedures like kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty have become an established treatment option for vertebral compression fractures (VCF). The transpedicular approach used during these ...procedures allows to take biopsies from the affected vertebral body. The aim of this study was to systematically summarize the existing knowledge on the value of routine transpedicular biopsies during kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty for vertebral compression fractures.
Methods
A systematic review of the literature using PubMed/Medline databases with the goal of finding all articles describing the value trans-pedicular biopsies for detecting primary bone tumors, metastases, bone diseases, or spondylitis in patients with vertebral compression fractures was performed. Search terms were (*biopsy/ OR biops*.ti,ab.) AND (vertebral compression fracture*.ti,ab.).
Results
Sixteen articles met the inclusion criteria, among these were six prospective and ten retrospective case series. Publication dates ranged from 2005 to 2020. A total of 3083 patients with 3667 transpedicular biopsies performed were included. Most biopsies confirmed osteoporosis as the dominant underlying pathology of VCFs. Transpedicular biopsies revealed an unexpected malignant diagnosis in 0.4–6% of the cases.
Conclusion
Routine transpedicular biopsies during kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty detect unexpected malignant lesions in 0.4–6% of the patients, even though the definition of “unexpected” varies among the analyzed studies. The evidence to support a routine biopsy is inconsistent. Nevertheless, routine biopsies can be considered, especially when sufficient preoperatvie imaging is not available or radiological findings are unclear.
•In vertebral osteomyelitis patients, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12(p70), VEGF, CRP increased.•No differences in biomarker level between high and low virulent bacteria.•Therapeutical monitoring can be performed ...with CRP, IL-6, and IL-12(p70).
Vertebral osteomyelitis (VO) is a primary infection of the endplates of the vertebral bodies with secondary infection of the adjacent intervertebral discs. Diagnosis is often delayed due to unspecific symptoms and a lack of specific infection markers. In this prospective study, we determined the suitability of 27 cytokines for the discrimination of VO and degenerative diseases of the spine and compared its diagnostic potential in relation to the C-reactive protein (CRP), which is widely used as a non-specific inflammation marker in clinical diagnostics. The patients included in this study underwent surgical stabilization of the lumbar and/or thoracic spine with removal of 1 or more affected intervertebral discs, as therapy for VO (n = 16) or for erosive osteochondrosis (EO, control group, n = 20). We evaluated the cytokine and CRP concentrations before (pre-OP = -20-0d where 0 means the day of surgery) and after surgery (post-OP) on days 3–5, 6–11, 40–56, and 63–142. Compared to the control patients pre-OP, a significantly higher elevation of the 4 cytokines IL-6, IL-8, IL-12 (p70), and VEGF as well as CRP were found in the VO patients, showing an area under the curve > 0.80 pre-OP. No significant differences were observed between VO patients with high and low virulent bacteria with respect to all 5 elevated biomarkers. This is the first prospective study in which a broad spectrum of 27 cytokines was analysed via multiplex assay using sera from patients with and without VO. Our results show that, in addition to CRP, 4 different cytokines were significantly altered in VO but not control patients. The results implicate that these candidate cytokines may be used in a multiplex assay for discrimination between VO and degenerative diseases of the spine.
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