Aims. The aim of this study was to determine if positive Waddell signs
were related to patients’ demographics or to perception of their
quality of life. Patients and Methods. This prospective cross-sectional study included 479 adult patients
with back pain from a university spine centre. Each completed SF-12
and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) questionnaires and underwent
standard spinal examinations to elicit Waddell signs. The relationship
between Waddell signs and age,
Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is uncommon in youth
and few cases are treated surgically. Very few outcome studies exist
for LDH surgery in this age group. Our aim was to explore differences
in
Aims. The aims of this study were to determine the rates of surgical complications, reoperations, and readmissions following herniated lumbar disc surgery, and to investigate the impact of sociodemographic factors and comorbidity on the rate of such unfavourable events. Patients and Methods. This was a longitudinal observation study. Data from herniated lumbar disc operations were retrieved from a large medical database using a combination of procedure and diagnosis codes from all public hospitals in Norway from 1999 to 2013. The impact of age,
Aims. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of
sarcopenia and to examine its impact on patients with degenerative
lumbar spinal stenosis (DLSS). Patients and Methods. This case-control study included two groups: one group consisting
of patients with DLSS and a second group of control subjects without
low back or neck pain and related leg pain. Five control cases were
randomly selected and matched by age and
Aims. Although we often encounter patients with an aortic aneurysm
who also have diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), there
are no reports to date of an association between these two conditions
and the pathogenesis of DISH remains unknown. This study therefore
evaluated the prevalence of DISH in patients with a thoracic aortic
aneurysm (AA). Patients and Methods. The medical records of 298 patients who underwent CT scans for
a diagnosis of an AA or following high-energy trauma were retrospectively
examined. A total of 204 patients underwent surgery for an AA and
94 had a high-energy injury and formed the non-AA group. The prevalence
of DISH was assessed on CT scans of the chest and abdomen and the
relationship between DISH and AA by comparison between the AA and
non-AA groups. Results. The prevalence of DISH in the AA group (114/204; 55.9%) was higher
than that in the non-AA group (31/94; 33.0%). On multivariate analysis,
the factors of AA, male
Aims. Magnetically controlled growing rod (MCGR) systems use non-invasive
spinal lengthening for the surgical treatment of early-onset scoliosis
(EOS). The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the performance
of these devices in the prevention of progression of the deformity.
A secondary aim was to record the rate of complications. Patients and Methods. An observational study of 31 consecutive children with EOS, of
whom 15 were male, who were treated between December 2011 and October
2017 was undertaken. Their mean age was 7.7 years (2 to 14). The
mean follow-up was 47 months (24 to 69). Distractions were completed
using the tailgating technique. The primary outcome measure was
correction of the radiographic deformity. Secondary outcomes were
growth, functional outcomes and complication rates. Results. The mean Cobb angle was 54° (14° to 91°) preoperatively and 37°
(11° to 69°) at the latest follow-up (p < 0.001). The mean thoracic
kyphosis (TK) was 45° (10° to 89°) preoperatively and 42° (9° to
84°) at the latest follow-up. The mean T1–S1 height increased from
287 mm (209 to 378) to 338 mm (240 to 427) (p < 0.001) and the
mean sagittal balance reduced from 68 mm (-76 to 1470) preoperatively
to 18 mm (-32 to 166) at the latest follow-up. The mean coronal balance
was 3 mm (-336 to 64) preoperatively and 8 mm (-144 to 64) at the
latest follow-up. The mean increase in weight and sitting and standing
height at the latest follow-up was 45%, 10% and 15%, respectively.
The mean Activity Scale for Kids (ASKp) scores increased in all
domains, with only personal care and standing skills being significant
at the latest follow-up (p = 0.02, p = 0.03). The improvements in
Cobb angle, TK and T1-S1 heights were not related to
Aims. The aim of this study was to evaluate improvements in the quality
and safety of paediatric spinal surgery following the implementation
of a specialist Paediatric Spinal Surgical Team (PSST) in the operating
theatre. Patients and Methods. A retrospective consecutive case study of paediatric spinal operations
before (between January 2008 and December 2009), and after (between
January 2012 and December 2013) the implementation of PSST, was
performed. A comparative analysis of outcome variables including
surgical site infection (SSI), operating time (ORT), blood loss (BL),
length of stay (LOS), unplanned staged procedures (USP) and transfusion
rates (allogenic and cell-saver) was performed between the two groups.
The rate of complications during the first two postoperative years
was also compared between the groups. Results. There were 130 patients in the pre-PSST group and 277 in the
post-PSST group. The age,
Aims. There is little information about the optimum number of implants
to be used in the surgical treatment of idiopathic scoliosis. Retrospective
analysis of prospectively collected data from the Swedish spine
register was undertaken to discover whether more implants per operated
vertebra (implant density) leads to a better outcome in the treatment of
idiopathic scoliosis. The hypothesis was that implant density is
not associated with patient-reported outcomes, the correction of
the curve or the rate of reoperation. Patients and Methods. A total of 328 patients with idiopathic scoliosis, aged between
ten and 20 years at the time of surgery, were identified in the
Swedish spine register (Swespine) and had patient reported outcomes
including the Scoliosis Research Society 22r instrument (SRS-22r)
score, EuroQol 5 dimensions quality of life, 3 level (EQ-5D-3L)
score and a Viual Analogue Score (VAS) for back pain, at a mean
follow-up of 3.1 years and reoperation data at a mean follow-up
of 5.5 years. Implant data and the correction of the curve were
assessed from radiographs, preoperatively and a mean of 1.9 years
postoperatively. The patients were divided into tertiles based on
implant density. Data were analyzed with analysis of variance, logistic
regression or log-rank test. Some analyses were adjusted for
We conducted a prospective follow-up MRI study
of originally asymptomatic healthy subjects to clarify the development
of Modic changes in the cervical spine over a ten-year period and
to identify related factors. Previously, 497 asymptomatic healthy
volunteers with no history of cervical trauma or surgery underwent
MRI. Of these, 223 underwent a second MRI at a mean follow-up of
11.6 years (10 to 12.7). These 223 subjects comprised 133 men and 100
women with a mean age at second MRI of 50.5 years (23 to 83). Modic
changes were classified as not present and types 1 to 3. Changes
in Modic types over time and relationships between Modic changes
and progression of degeneration of the disc or clinical symptoms
were evaluated. A total of 31 subjects (13.9%) showed Modic changes at
follow-up: type 1 in nine, type 2 in 18, type 3 in two, and types 1
and 2 in two. Modic changes at follow-up were significantly associated
with numbness or pain in the arm, but not with neck pain or shoulder
stiffness. Age (≥ 40 years),
No previous studies have examined the physical
characteristics of patients with cauda equina syndrome (CES). We compared
the anthropometric features of patients who developed CES after
a disc prolapse with those who did not but who had symptoms that
required elective surgery. We recorded the age,
This study evaluates factors related to myelopathic
symptoms in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal
ligament (OPLL). A total of 87 patients with OPLL were included.
Of these, 53 (Group I) had no symptoms or presented with neck pain
and radiculopathy and 34 (Group II) had myelopathic symptoms.
We validated the North American Spine Society (NASS) outcome-assessment instrument for the lumbar spine in a computerised touch-screen format and assessed patients’ acceptance, taking into account previous computer experience, age and
Aims. The aims of this study were to evaluate the clinical and radiological
outcomes of instrumented posterolateral fusion (PLF) performed in
patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). . Methods. A total of 40 patients with RA and 134 patients without RA underwent
instrumented PLF for spinal stenosis between January 2003 and December
2011. The two groups were matched for age,
This study examined spinal fractures in patients
admitted to a Major Trauma Centre via two independent pathways,
a major trauma (MT) pathway and a standard unscheduled non-major
trauma (NMT) pathway. A total of 134 patients were admitted with
a spinal fracture over a period of two years; 50% of patients were
MT and the remainder NMT. MT patients were predominantly male, had
a mean age of 48.8 years (13 to 95), commonly underwent surgery
(62.7%), characteristically had fractures in the cervico-thoracic
and thoracic regions and 50% had fractures of more than one vertebrae,
which were radiologically unstable in 70%. By contrast, NMT patients
showed an equal
Hypovitaminosis D has been identified as a common
risk factor for fragility fractures and poor fracture healing. Epidemiological
data on vitamin D deficiency have been gathered in various populations,
but the association between vertebral fragility fractures and hypovitaminosis
D, especially in males, remains unclear. The purpose of this study
was to evaluate serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH D) in
patients presenting with vertebral fragility fractures and to determine
whether patients with a vertebral fracture were at greater risk
of hypovitaminosis D than a control population. Furthermore, we
studied the seasonal variations in the serum vitamin D levels of
tested patients in order to clarify the relationship between other
known risk factors for osteoporosis and vitamin D levels. We measured
the serum 25-OH D levels of 246 patients admitted with vertebral
fractures (105 men, 141 female, mean age 69 years, . sd. 8.5),
and in 392 orthopaedic patients with back pain and no fractures
(219 men, 173 female, mean age 63 years, . sd. 11) to evaluate
the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency. Statistical analysis found
a significant difference in vitamin D levels between patients with
vertebral fragility fracture and the control group (p = 0.036).
In addition, there was a significant main effect of the tested variables:
obesity (p <
0.001), nicotine abuse (p = 0.002) and diabetes
mellitus (p <
0.001). No statistical difference was found between
vitamin D levels and
Dysphagia is a common complication of anterior
surgery of the cervical spine. The incidence of post-operative dysphagia
may be as high as 71% within the first two weeks after surgery,
but gradually decreases during the following months. However, 12%
to 14% of patients may have some persistent dysphagia one year after
the procedure. It has been shown that female
Degenerative spondylolisthesis is four times more common in women than in men. Although this
We investigated the spinopelvic morphology and
global sagittal balance of patients with a degenerative retrolisthesis
or anterolisthesis. A total of 269 consecutive patients with a degenerative
spondylolisthesis were included in this study. There were 95 men
and 174 women with a mean age of 64.3 years (. sd. 10.5; 40
to 88). A total of 106 patients had a pure retrolisthesis (R group),
130 had a pure anterolisthesis (A group), and 33 had both (R+A group). A backward slip was found in the upper lumbar levels (mostly
L2 or L3) with an almost equal
We investigated the pre-operative and one-year post-operative health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcome by using a Euroqol (EQ-5D) questionnaire in 230 patients who underwent surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis. Data were obtained from the National Swedish Registry for operations on the lumbar spine between 2001 and 2002. We analysed the pre- and postoperative quality of life data, age,
We have studied 180 patients (128 men and 52 women) who had undergone lumbar discectomy at a mean of 25.4 years (20 to 32) after operation. Pre-operatively, most patients (70 patients; 38.9%) had abnormal reflexes and/or muscle weakness in the leg (96 patients; 53.3%). At follow-up 42 patients (60%) with abnormal reflexes pre-operatively had fully recovered and 72 (75%) with pre-operative muscle impairment had normal muscle strength. When we looked at patient-reported outcomes, we found that the Short form-36 summary scores were similar to the aged-matched normative values. No disability or minimum disability on the Oswestry disability index was reported by 136 patients (75.6%), and 162 (90%) were satisfied with their operation. The most important predictors of patients’ self-reported positive outcome were male