Percutaneous facet screw fixation of lumbar spine with CT and fluoroscopic guidance: a feasibility study.

PURPOSE: To assess the feasibility of computed tomography (CT)- and fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous facet screw fixation following anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) or anterior pseudarthrosis in adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained for this study. One hundred seven consecutive adult patients (46 men, 61 women; mean age ± standard deviation: 56.3 years ± 12.9) with ALIF (n = 79) or anterior pseudarthrosis (n = 28) were prospectively treated by means of percutaneous facet screw fixation with CT and fluoroscopic guidance. Two 4.0-mm cannulated screws were placed per level to fix facet joints by using either a translaminar facet or transfacet pedicle pathway. Only local anesthesia was used during these procedures. Procedural time was noted for each patient. Postoperative follow-up ranging from 1 year to 3 years was assessed by using Macnab and radiologic criteria. RESULTS: The mean procedure times for a lumbar single-level and a double-level fusion ranged from 15 to 25 minutes and from 40 to 50 minutes, respectively. All the transfacet pedicle (n = 182) and translaminar facet (n = 56) screws were successfully placed in one attempt. Radiographic fusion was observed within the year following posterior fixation in all patients despite one translaminar screw failure. According to the Macnab criteria, the clinical results were classified as excellent in 92 (86%) and good in 15 (14%) of 107 patients at the time of their last follow-up examination. CONCLUSION: This feasibility study showed that CT- and fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous facet screw fixation is a rapid, safe, and effective method.

Inhalation study of polymethyl methacrylate following radiologist exposure during percutaneous vertebroplasty.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the atmospheric concentrations of methyl methacrylate (MMA) vapors during percutaneous vertebroplasty for the interventional radiologist and the other operating room staff. MATERIALS AND METHODS: During percutaneous vertebroplasty, a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) mixture (about 20 mL) was prepared with a mixing system in a normally ventilated room. Atmospheric concentrations of MMA vapors were measured by a gas absorbent badge for individual exposure (GABIE) passive sampler attached to the surgical gowns of the interventional radiologist and the other operating room staff over a period of 460 min. Active sampling was performed over 15 min with an individual pump placed near the breathing zone of the radiologist. MMA vapor concentrations were then measured using gas chromatography and activated charcoal tubes. RESULTS: Mean MMA vapor concentrations measured by the GABIEs over the period of 460 min were 0.51 parts per million (ppm) for the radiologist and 0.22 ppm for the other operating room staff. The emission peaks measured by using charcoal tubes over 15 min were 3.7 ppm. CONCLUSION: MMA vapor concentrations during percutaneous vertebroplasty were well below the recommended maximum exposure of 100 ppm over the course of an 8-h workday.

Symptomatic lumbar facet joint cysts treated by CT-guided intracystic and intra-articular steroid injections.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate percutaneous computed tomography (CT)-guided intracystic and intra-articular steroid injections for the treatment of lumbar facet joint cyst causing radicular pain. METHODS: A single-centre prospective study involving 120 consecutive patients with symptomatic lumbar facet joint cyst-induced radicular pain was done (72 women, 48 men). The average age was 68.2 years (52-84). Patients were treated by percutaneous CT-guided intracystic and intra-articular steroid injections. The clinical course of nerve root pain was evaluated after 1 day, and 1, 3 and 6 months, with long-term follow-up after 12 months. RESULTS: Patient follow-ups in our series show supportive results: within 120 patients, 54% of patients were satisfied with a long-lasting result from the first intra-cystic and intra-articular steroid injections (n = 65), while 20.8% were satisfied with a long-lasting result from a second intervention. Combining these two results shows that 75% of patients were satisfied with a long-lasting result. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that percutaneous treatment of vertebral lumbar facet joint cysts by double injections is an effective and economic therapeutic technical management among 75% of our patients. Thus we recommend that it should be considered as a first choice of treatment. KEY POINTS: Lumbar facet joint cysts are a common feature of back and radicular pain. They may be treated effectively by interventional radiologists using CT guidance. Percutaneous treatment using double injections can save surgery in 75% of patients.

Dual guidance (CT and fluoroscopy) vertebroplasty: radiation dose to radiologists. How much and where?

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to evaluate the radiation received by the practitioner when performing percutaneous vertebroplasty guided by CT and fluoroscopy for specific anatomical sites: orbits, hands, ankles, and thorax (under lead-lined apron). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four vertebroplasties were performed on 18 patients. RESULTS: The anatomical site that was most exposed to radiation was the right hand (0.37 mSv on average). This study demonstrates a significant correlation between the irradiation dose and fluoroscopy duration, reflecting both the quantity of primary-beam radiation and backscattered radiation. The right hand (P = 0.03), left hand (P = 0.02), and the left orbit (P < 0.0001) are the anatomical zones that are the most affected by the combination of these two types of radiation, with cumulative irradiation doses of 0.45, 0.2, and 0.14 mSv, respectively. There was a significant correlation between the patient weight and radiation of the left hand (P = 0.03), the left orbit (P = 0.03), and the thorax (P = 0.02), confirming the major influence of backscattered radiation. CONCLUSIONS: The most irradiated anatomical sites limiting the number of interventions are the left orbit and the right hand.

Value of assessment of multivoxel proton chemical shift imaging to predict long term outcome in patients after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A preliminary prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Existing methods to predict recovery after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) lack of accuracy. The aim of this study was to determine whether quantitative proton chemical shift imaging (1H-CSI) during the subacute stage of OHCA can predict neurological outcome of such patients. METHODS: This monocentric prospective observational study was conducted in a Intensive Care Unit of a teaching hospital. Forty consecutive patients with OHCA were enrolled between January 1st 2011-December 31st 2013. Multivoxel 1H-CSI values were compared to structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences (fluid-attenuated inversion recovery and diffusion-weighted imaging). Ratios of N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) to creatine (Cr) and choline compounds were analyzed using region of interest in bilateral lenticular cores and thalami. The outcome evaluated was the Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) at 6 months, dichotomized as favorable (CPC 1-2) and unfavorable outcome (CPC 3-5). The performance was compared by area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROCAUC) curves analysis. RESULTS: Twenty nine OHCA had an interpretable MRI. Eight patients (28%) had favorable outcome at 6 months. The worst NAA/Cr in lenticular cores was the best 1H-CSI marker, with 80% sensitivity (95% confidence interval (CI), 57-94) and a 100% specificity (95% CI, 63-100) with a positive predictive value of 100%. Prognostic accuracy, as quantified by the ROCAUC, was higher with the worst NAA/Cr in lenticular cores (ROCAUC 0.88; 95% CI, 0.70-0.97) than with the structural MRI sequences. CONCLUSION: In this preliminary study we found that multivoxel 1H-CSI in lenticular cores was highly predictive of unfavorable outcome at 6 months.

Data on prognostication models comparison for neurological recovery after cardiac arrest using proton chemical shift imaging (1H-CSI).

We report in this data article the statistical comparison of three models for neurological prognostication 6 months after cardiac arrest: M1 associated SAPS II and coma Glasgow score at MRI, M2 associated SAPS II, coma Glasgow score, and FLAIR-DWI "deep gray nuclei"score, M3 associated SAPS II, coma Glasgow score, FLAIR-DWI "deep gray nuclei"score, and Lenticular cores NAA/Cr ratio. These data are related to "Value of assessment of multivoxel proton chemical shift imaging to predict long term outcome in patients after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A preliminary prospective observational study" (Quintard et al., 2018) [1].

Percutaneous discectomy on lumbar radiculopathy related to disk herniation: why under CT guidance? An open study of 100 consecutive patients.

The primary objective of this study conducted on 100 patients is to demonstrate that performing CT-guided percutaneous discectomy for herniated disks results in a significant improvement in pain symptoms at several times (D1, D2, D7, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months). This objective assesses the effectiveness and feasibility of this technique under CT guidance in patients presenting documented lower back pain related to disk herniation that has not improved with appropriate medical treatment. The impact of various factors on the effectiveness of discectomy will also be evaluated. At 1 week, we notes a decrease in average VAS respectively of 71% and 67% in patients treated for posterolateral and foraminal herniated disks; the result for posteromedian herniated disks is only 45% in average decrease. At 6 months post op, 79% of lateralized herniated disks have a satisfactory result (≥ 70% decrease in pain as compared to initial pain), whereas post median herniated disks had a satisfactory result in only 50% of cases. Percutaneous fine needle discectomy probe under combined CT and fluoroscopic guidance is a minimally invasive spine surgery which should be considered as an alternative to surgery. This technique presents several advantages: the small diameter of the probe used (maximum 16 G or 1.5mm) allows a cutaneous incision of only a few millimeters, and a trans-canal approach can be possible; it also decreases the risk of ligamentary lesion and does not cause an osseous lesion of the posterior arc or of the adjacent muscular structures.

Percutaneous screw fixation of a vertebral pedicle fracture under CT-guidance: a new technique.

We report on a new minimally invasive technique for the vertebral pedicle fracture after placement of a prosthetic disc. This intervention is an adaptation of CT-guided sacroiliac and acetabular fracture screw fixation. This type of procedure enables the perfect placement and measurement of the screw, as well as an extremely small incision under local anesthesia. CT guided Transpedicular fixation could be a useful strategy in the treatment of future cases involving poorly healing pedicle fractures causing persistent symptoms. This intervention confirms the range of capacities of CT scan-controlled interventions in terms of precision, safety, speed, minimal invasiveness, rapid return to everyday activity and consequently, economical management.

Computed axial tomography-guided fixation of sacroiliac joint disruption: safety, outcomes, and results at 3-year follow-up.

Secondary to the progress in interventional imaging, new therapeutic options have been developed that decrease potential complications because they are minimally invasive and they decrease patient rehabilitation time. As a diagnostic modality, computed axial tomography (CAT) allows precise evaluation of the degree of sacroiliac reduction that must be performed. Moreover, the use of CAT enables easy positioning of screws across the sacroiliac joint, thus avoiding nerve and vascular damage. We report our clinical experience of 20 patients treated by CAT-guided percutaneous fixation for posttraumatic unilateral sacroiliac disruption, including evaluation of our technique, its safety, and patient outcomes and long-term results. All patients in this study had successful outcomes, which were judged according to how much pain they experienced and how quickly they resumed normal activity after the procedure. Twelve of 16 patients were able to return to work by postoperative month 2. One patient had degenerative sacroiliac joint syndrome (5%), which was confirmed 6 months after surgery by CAT scan. None of the patients showed radiologic or clinical evidence of instability of the sacroiliac joint or screw migration. Postoperative follow-up, performed at 1, 2, and 3 years in our rehabilitation department, showed stable results over time. All pain disappeared, without the need for medication, in 19 patients (95%).