The role of spinal surgery in the treatment of low back pain.

Low back pain (LBP) is common and a leading cause of disability and lost productivity worldwide. Acute LBP is frequently self-resolving, but recurrence is common, and a significant proportion of patients will develop chronic pain. This transition is perpetuated by anatomical, biological, psychological and social factors. Chronic LBP should be managed with a holistic biopsychosocial approach of generally non-surgical measures. Spinal surgery has a role in alleviating radicular pain and disability resulting from neural compression, or where back pain relates to cancer, infection, or gross instability. Spinal surgery for all other forms of back pain is unsupported by clinical data, and the broader evidence base for spinal surgery in the management of LBP is poor and suggests it is ineffective. Emerging areas of interest include selection of a minority of patients who may benefit from surgery based on spinal sagittal alignment and/or nuclear medicine scans, but an evidence base is absent. Spinal surgery for back pain has increased substantially over recent decades, and disproportionately among privately insured patients, thus the contribution of industry and third-party payers to this increase, and their involvement in published research, requires careful consideration.

Peduncular hallucinosis after debulking of a third ventricular pilocytic astrocytoma: Case report and review of the literature.

Peduncular hallucinosis is a rare clinical syndrome manifesting as complex visual hallucinations and sleep-wake dysregulation after injury to deep neural structures, most commonly the midbrain and diencephalon. Initially reported after ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke, an increasing range of pathologies and procedures have been described as causative of peduncular hallucinosis. We present a novel case of peduncular hallucinosis following debulking of a third ventricular pilocytic astrocytoma as well as a review of the existing literature.

Prognosis of Acute Subdural Hematoma in the Elderly: A Systematic Review.

Acute subdural hematoma (aSDH) is among the most common injury types encountered by neurosurgeons, and carries a poor prognosis, particularly in the elderly. As the incidence of aSDH in the elderly population rises, identifying those patients who may benefit from operative intervention is crucial. This systematic review aimed to identify data on prognostic factors or indices, such as the modified frailty index, that may help predict outcome, and hence guide management. A comprehensive search of online databases was conducted by two independent authors, and data on prognostic factors and outcomes were extracted. The quality of the evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria. Of 769 studies identified in the initial search, 7 satisfied inclusion and exclusion criteria. Mortality and morbidity varied considerably among studies. Initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of 3-8 was the most consistently reported negative prognostic feature. Several studies evaluated the impact of medical comorbidities and premorbid frailty, but were limited by small sample size. A previous history of pneumonia was shown to increase the risk of Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) 1-3 (odds ratio [OR] 6.4 [95% CI 1.6-25.2], p = 0.04) in a single study, which also reported a greater increase in GOS at 3 months in those with fewer than five comorbidities (56% vs. 19%, p < 0.01). There are limited data describing prognostic factors or the use of frailty indices within the specific group of elderly patients with aSDH. Prospective research is needed to evaluate the utility of accurate and validated assessments of frailty to enhance the neurosurgeon's ability to appropriately manage this complex and expanding patient group.

Emergency department interpretation of CT of the brain: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: CT of the brain (CTB) is one of the most common radiological investigations performed in the emergency department (ED). Emergency clinicians rely upon this imaging modality to aid diagnosis and guide management. However, their capacity to accurately interpret CTB is unclear. This systematic review aims to determine this capacity and identify the potential need for interventions directed towards improving the ability of emergency clinicians in this important area. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was conducted without date restrictions. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases and studies reporting the primary outcome of concordance of CTB interpretation between a non-radiologist and a radiology specialist were identified. Studies were assessed for heterogeneity and a subgroup analysis of pooled data based on medical specialty was carried out to specifically identify the concordance of ED clinicians. The quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE criteria. RESULTS: There were 21 studies included in this review. Among the included studies, 12 reported on the concordance of emergency clinicians, 5 reported on radiology trainees and 4 on surgeons. Clinical and statistical heterogeneity between studies was high (I2=97.8%, p<0.01). The concordance in the emergency subgroup was the lowest among all subgroups with a range of 0.63-0.95 and a clinically significant error rate ranging from 0.02 to 0.24. CONCLUSIONS: Heterogeneity and the presence of bias limit our confidence in these findings. However, the variance in the interpretation of CTB between emergency clinicians and radiologists suggests that interventions towards improving accuracy may be useful.