Weerasak Singhatanadgige

Correlation and Reliability of Cervical Sagittal Alignment Parameters between Lateral Cervical Radiograph and Lateral Whole-Body EOS Stereoradiograph

Study Design Retrospective analysis. Objective To evaluate the correlation and reliability of cervical sagittal alignment parameters obtained from lateral cervical radiographs (XRs) compared with lateral whole-body stereoradiographs (SRs). Methods We evaluated adults with cervical deformity using both lateral XRs and lateral SRs obtained within 1 week of each other between 2010 and 2014. XR and SR images were measured by two independent spine surgeons using the following sagittal alignment parameters: C2–C7 sagittal Cobb angle (SCA), C2–C7 sagittal vertical axis (SVA), C1–C7 translational distance (C1–7), T1 slope (T1-S), neck tilt (NT), and thoracic inlet angle (TIA). Pearson correlation and paired t test were used for statistical analysis, with intra- and interrater reliability analyzed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results A total of 35 patients were included in the study. We found excellent intrarater reliability for all sagittal alignment parameters in both the XR and SR groups with ICC ranging from 0.799 to 0.994 for XR and 0.791 to 0.995 for SR. Interrater reliability was also excellent for all parameters except NT and TIA, which had fair reliability. We also found excellent correlations between XR and SR measurements for most sagittal alignment parameters; SCA, SVA, and C1–C7 had r > 0.90, and only NT had r < 0.70. There was a significant difference between groups, with SR having lower measurements compared with XR for both SVA (0.68 cm lower, p < 0.001) and C1–C7 (1.02 cm lower, p < 0.001). There were no differences between groups for SCA, T1-S, NT, and TIA. Conclusion Whole-body stereoradiography appears to be a viable alternative for measuring cervical sagittal alignment parameters compared with standard radiography. XR and SR demonstrated excellent correlation for most sagittal alignment parameters except NT. However, SR had significantly lower average SVA and C1–C7 measurements than XR. The lower radiation exposure using single SR has to be weighed against its higher cost compared with XR.

Outcomes following Laminoplasty or Laminectomy and Fusion in Patients with Myelopathy Caused by Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament: A Systematic Review

Study Design Systematic review. Objective To compare laminoplasty versus laminectomy and fusion in patients with cervical myelopathy caused by OPLL. Methods A systematic review was conducted using PubMed/Medline, Cochrane database, and Google scholar of articles. Only comparative studies in humans were included. Studies involving cervical trauma/fracture, infection, and tumor were excluded. Results Of 157 citations initially analyzed, 4 studies ultimately met our inclusion criteria: one class of evidence (CoE) II prospective cohort study and three CoE III retrospective cohort studies. The prospective cohort study found no significant difference between laminoplasty and laminectomy and fusion in the recovery rate from myelopathy. One CoE III retrospective cohort study reported a significantly higher recovery rate following laminoplasty. Another CoE III retrospective cohort study reported a significantly higher recovery rate in the laminectomy and fusion group. One CoE II prospective cohort study and one CoE III retrospective cohort study found no significant difference in pain improvement between patients treated with laminoplasty versus patients treated with laminectomy and fusion. All four studies reported a higher incidence of C5 palsy following laminectomy and fusion than laminoplasty. One CoE II prospective cohort and one CoE III retrospective cohort reported that there was no significant difference in axial neck pain between the two procedures. One CoE III retrospective cohort study suggested that there was no significant difference between groups in OPLL progression. Conclusion Data from four comparative studies was not sufficient to support the superiority of laminoplasty or laminectomy and fusion in treating cervical myelopathy caused by OPLL.

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of En Bloc Vertebrectomy Compared with Intralesional Resection for Giant Cell Tumors of the Mobile Spine

Study Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Objective To compare the recurrence and perioperative complication rate of en bloc vertebrectomy (EV) and intralesional resection (IR) in the giant cell tumor of the mobile spine (SGCT). Methods We systematically searched publications in the PubMed and Embase databases for reports of SGCTs, excluding the sacrum. Two reviewers independently assessed all publications. A meta-analysis was performed using local recurrence and postoperative complications as the primary outcomes of interest. Results There were four articles reporting recurrence and two articles reporting postoperative complications. All included articles were case series. In all, 91 patients were included; 49 were treated with IR and 42 were treated with EV. Local recurrence rates were 36.7 and 9.5% in the IR and EV groups, respectively. Rates of postoperative complications were 36.4% with IR and 11.1% with EV. Overall, patients treated with EV not only had a lower recurrence rate (relative risk [RR] 0.22; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.09 to 0.52) but also had a lower postoperative complication rate (RR 0.34; 95% CI 0.07 to 1.52) compared with IR. Conclusions Based on the limited data obtained from systematic review, SGCT patients treated with EV had a lower recurrence rate and fewer postoperative complications than those treated with IR.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of effectiveness of preoperative embolization in surgery for metastatic spine disease

Background Preoperative embolization (PE) may decrease intraoperative blood loss (IBL) in decompressive surgery of hypervascular spinal metastases. However, no consensus has been found in other metastases and no meta-analysis which reviewed the benefit of PE in spinal metastases has been conducted. Objective To assess IBL in spinal metastases surgery in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and cohort studies comparing PE and a control group of non-embolized patients. Methods A systematic search of relevant publications in PubMed and EMBASE was undertaken. Inclusion criteria were RCTs and observational studies in patients with spinal metastases who underwent spine surgery and reported IBL. Meta-analysis was performed using standardized mean difference (SMD) and mean difference (MD) of IBL. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistic. Results A total of 265 abstracts (126 from PubMed and 139 from Embase) were identified through database searching. The reviewers selected six studies for qualitative synthesis and meta-analysis. The pooled SMD of the included studies was 0.58 (95% CI −0.10 to 1.25, p=0.09). Sensitivity analysis revealed that, if the study by Rehak et al was omitted, the pooled SMD was significantly changed to 0.88 (95% CI 0.39 to 1.36, p<0.001) and PE reduced the IBL significantly. The pooled MD was 708.3 mL (95% CI −224.4 to 1640.9 mL, p=0.14). If the results of the Rehak et al study were omitted, the pooled MD was significantly changed to 1226.9 mL (95% CI 345.8 to 2108.1 mL, p=0.006). Conclusions PE can be effective in reducing IBL in spinal metastases surgery in both renal cell carcinoma and mixed primary tumor groups.

Esophageal perforation following anterior cervical Spine surgery: Case report and review of the literature

Study Design: Multicenter retrospective case series and review of the literature. Objective: To determine the rate of esophageal perforations following anterior cervical spine surgery. Methods: As part of an AOSpine series on rare complications, a retrospective cohort study was conducted among 21 high-volume surgical centers to identify esophageal perforations following anterior cervical spine surgery. Staff at each center abstracted data from patients’ charts and created case report forms for each event identified. Case report forms were then sent to the AOSpine North America Clinical Research Network Methodological Core for data processing and analysis. Results: The records of 9591 patients who underwent anterior cervical spine surgery were reviewed. Two (0.02%) were found to have esophageal perforations following anterior cervical spine surgery. Both cases were detected and treated in the acute postoperative period. One patient was successfully treated with primary repair and debridement. One patient underwent multiple debridement attempts and expired. Conclusions: Esophageal perforation following anterior cervical spine surgery is a relatively rare occurrence. Prompt recognition and treatment of these injuries is critical to minimizing morbidity and mortality.

Can standard anterior Smith-Robinson supramanubrial approach be utilized for approach down to T2 or T3?

PurposeThe aim of this study was to determine a plain radiographic criterion for determining the feasibility of using the standard anterior Smith-Robinson supramanubrial approach for anterior surgery down to T2 or T3.MethodsThe surgical database (2002–2014) was searched to identify patients with anterior cervical surgery to T2 or T3. A method to determine whether a standard anterior Smith-Robinson approach can be used to operate on the upper thoracic levels was evaluated. The surgeon chose the surgical approach preoperatively using a lateral radiograph by determining if a line from the intended skin incision to the lower instrumented level (LIV) passed above the top of the manubrium. If so, a standard Smith-Robinson approach was selected. Another spine surgeon then analyzed all patients who had anterior thoracic fusion to T2 or below. The lateral radiographs were retrospectively reviewed.ResultsA total of 44 patients who underwent anterior surgery down to T2 or T3 vertebrae were identified. T2 was the LIV in 39 patients. T3 was the LIV in five patients. No surgery was abandoned or converted to a difference approach after making the standard Smith-Robinson approach. To increase visualization, T1 corpectomy was necessary in 4 of 39 patients when T2 was the LIV. T2 corpectomy was necessary in 2 of 5 patients when T3 was the LIV.ConclusionIf a line from the intended skin incision to the LIV passes over the top of the manubrium, a standard Smith-Robinson approach without sternotomy can be successfully used.

Vitamin D and spine surgery

Vitamin D is crucial for musculoskeletal health, maintenance, and function. Vitamin D insufficiency is common among patients undergoing spine surgery and the ideal vitamin D level for spine surgery has yet to be investigated. There is a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in patients with musculoskeletal pain regardless of surgical intervention. With the frequency and costs of spine surgery increasing, it is imperative that efforts are continued to reduce the impact on patients and healthcare services. Studies into vitamin D and its associations with orthopaedic surgery have yielded alarming findings with regards to the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. Importantly, altered vitamin D status also contributes to a wide range of disease conditions. Therefore, future investigations are still essential for better understanding the relationship between vitamin D and spine surgery outcomes. Whilst further research is required to fully elucidate the extent of the effects of hypovitaminosis D has on surgical outcomes, it is strongly advisable to reduce the impacts by appropriate vitamin D supplementation of deficient and at-risk patients.

Limitations of Using Microsoft Excel Version 2016 (MS Excel 2016) for Statistical Analysis for Medical Research.

Microsoft Excel (MS Excel) is a commonly used program for data collection and statistical analysis in biomedical research. However, this program has many limitations, including fewer functions that can be used for analysis and a limited number of total cells compared with dedicated statistical programs. MS Excel cannot complete analyses with blank cells, and cells must be selected manually for analysis. In addition, it requires multiple steps of data transformation and formulas to plot survival analysis graphs, among others. The Megastat add-on program, which will be supported by MS Excel 2016 soon, would eliminate some limitations of using statistic formulas within MS Excel.

Increased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor is associated with hypertrophic ligamentum flavum in lumbar spinal canal stenosis.

Lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS) is the most common spinal disorder in elderly patients, causing low back and leg pain, radiculopathy, and cauda equina syndrome. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent regulator of many cellular functions including proliferation, differentiation, wound healing, and angiogenesis. The present study aimed to investigate the pattern of VEGF expression in the ligamentum flavum (LF) of patients with LSCS. 24 patients with LSCS were recruited in this prospective study. We quantified and localized VEGF expression in LF tissues obtained during surgery. VEGF messenger RNA and protein expression in LF were determined using reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR), and quantitative real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry, and ELISA. VEGF expression was significantly higher in the hypertrophic LF group than in the non-pathological LF group (p<0.01) as quantified by quantitative real-time PCR. Further ELISA analysis showed that the average concentration of VEGF in the hypertrophic LF was significantly elevated compared with that of controls (p<0.01). There was no correlation between the tissue VEGF expression of non-pathological LF and patient age in patients with LSCS. Moreover, the immunohistochemical study revealed that VEGF was positively stained on fibroblasts, inflammatory cells, and endothelial cells representing neovascularization within hypertrophic LF compared to the non-pathological LF of controls. The increased expression of VEGF was associated with the degenerative changes of hypertrophic LF, suggesting that VEGF could contribute to one of the mechanisms of pathogenesis in lumbar spinal stenosis.

Concomitant mycotic abdominal aortic aneurysm and lumbar tuberculous spondylitis with cauda equina syndrome: a rare condition — a case report and literature review

IntroductionConcomitant mycotic abdominal aortic aneurysm and lumbar tuberculous spondylitis with psoas abscess and cauda equina syndrome is extremely rare. This condition can cause serious life-threatening problems if not diagnosed and treated properly.Case presentationWe report an unusual case of a 79-year-old Thai male, who was diagnosed with concomitant mycotic abdominal aortic aneurysm and lumbar tuberculous spondylitis at the L2–L3 level with left psoas abscess and cauda equina syndrome. The surgical plan was radical surgical debridement via transpsoas approach and the defect was filled with iliac crest strut graft and posterior decompressive laminectomy and fusion with a pedicle screws and rods system. During the operation, an abdominal aortic aneurysm was iatrogenically ruptured and then was emergently treated with endovascular stent graft implantation. Subsequently, hemostasis was achieved and the patient remained hemodynamically stable. A few days later, he underwent posterior decompressive laminectomy L2–L3, fusion and instrumentation with a pedicle screws and rods system at T11-L5. After surgery, the patient recovered well and his motor power improved gradually. He was continually treated with anti-tuberculous chemotherapy for 12 months.DiscussionConcomitant mycotic aortic aneurysm and lumbar tuberculous spondylitis with psoas abscess and cauda equina syndrome is an extremely rare condition that requires prompt diagnosis and management. Its consequences can lead to serious complications such as permanent neurological damage, paralysis or even death, if left untreated. The aims of the treatment are to eradicate infection, to prevent further neurological compromise, to stabilize the spine and to protect the aortic aneurysm from rupture.