Conventional and advanced MR imaging insights of synovial sarcoma.

OBJECTIVES: Synovial sarcomas commonly involve extremities. The purpose of this study was to systematically assess and describe the appearance of pathologically proven synovial sarcomas on conventional MR sequences, diffusion weighted imaging and dynamic contrast enhanced imaging. METHODS: In this cross-sectional retrospective study, fifteen pre-operative MRIs were analyzed separately by two musculoskeletal radiologists and a fellow. MRI features of synovial sarcomas were evaluated in a systematic fashion on conventional and advanced MR sequences. RESULTS: The tumors demonstrated heterogeneous appearance on conventional MR sequences. Peritumoral edema was absent in four of 15 (27%) lesions including grade 2 and grade 3 tumors. Average minimum ADC was 0.8 × 10-3 mm2/s and average mean ADC was 1.2 × 10-3 mm2/s. There was avid early arterial phase enhancement on contrast imaging. Average relative enhancement of the tumors was 5.7 times compared to the adjacent skeletal muscle. CONCLUSION: Synovial sarcomas demonstrate avid early arterial phase post-contrast enhancement on contrast images, low ADC values, and heterogeneous appearance on conventional MRI sequences. Peritumoral edema may be absent in such tumors despite being high grade tumors.

Predictors of Persistent Disability and Back Pain in Older Adults with a New Episode of Care for Back Pain.

Objective: To identify predictors of persistent disability and back pain in older adults. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Back pain outcomes using longitudinal data registry. Subjects: Five thousand two hundred twenty adults age 65 years and older with a new primary care visit for back pain. Methods: Baseline measurements included: demographics, health, and back pain characteristics. We abstracted imaging findings from 348 radiology reports. The primary outcomes were the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and back pain intensity. We defined persistent disability as RMDQ of 4/24 or higher at both six and 12 months and persistent back pain as pain 3/10 or higher at both six and 12 months. Results: There were 2,498 of 4,143 (60.3%) participants with persistent disability, and 2,099 of 4,144 (50.7%) had persistent back pain. Adjusted analyses showed the following characteristics most strongly predictive of persistent disability and persistent back pain: sex, race, worse baseline clinical characteristics of back pain, leg pain, back-related disability and duration of symptoms, smoking, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, a history of falls, greater number of comorbidities, knee osteoarthritis, wide-spread pain syndromes, and an index diagnosis of lumbar spinal stenosis. Within the imaging data subset, central spinal stenosis was not associated with disability or pain. Conclusion: We found that many predictors in older adults were similar to those for younger populations.

Postoperative ischemic optic neuropathy.

STUDY DESIGN: Systematic literature review. OBJECTIVE: To determine if there are predictors or preventative measures for postoperative ischemic optic neuropathy (ION) associated with spine surgery. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Postoperative ION is a devastating complication that is most common after cardiac and spinal fusion surgery. Identifying patient or perioperative predictors for postoperative ION could lead to therapeutic modifications designed to minimize its occurrence. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Collaboration Library for literature published in English from 1990 through 2008 reporting on ION following spine surgery. References from review articles of ION were used, but articles without original material were excluded. Data on study design, patient demographics, and perioperative characteristics were collected and analyzed. Two independent reviewers assessed the strength of literature using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria assessing quality, quantity, and consistency of results. Disagreements were resolved by consensus. RESULTS: Nineteen of 360 articles on postoperative ION after spine surgery met inclusion/exclusion criteria. The quality of evidence was very low as the majority of articles were case reports. The majority of ION patients were men between 30 and 69 years, undergoing spinal fusion surgery with an operative duration greater than 5 hours and an estimated blood loss greater than 1 L. Confounding factors and lack of a denominator from the case reports and case series precluded identification of risk factors with even a modest level of evidence. CONCLUSION: Postoperative ION after spinal surgery is a rare event, which may be associated with prone position surgery of more than 5 hours surgical duration and blood loss of more than 1 L. Informing patients of this remote risk should be considered during preoperative counseling. The quality of evidence for preventative measures for postoperative ION after spinal fusion surgery is very low, but it has been proposed that efforts aimed at reducing the duration or severity of venous congestion in the head may be beneficial.

Non-traumatic bicycle injuries : a review of the literature.

Bicycle riding is a popular form of recreation, fitness and transportation in many areas of the world. Traumatic injuries associated with bicycle riding have been documented and intervention strategies have been successful. This has not been the case for non-traumatic injuries. The prevalence of non-traumatic bicycle injuries can be as high as 85%. The most common sites for non-traumatic cycling-related injuries include the knee, neck/shoulder, hands, buttock and perineum. Two categories of injuries that may have the greatest impact on disability include ulnar and median nerve palsy, and erectile dysfunction. Injury prevention strategies have been proposed to reduce non-traumatic injuries but these strategies remain untested.