A novel predictive model of perioperative blood transfusion requirement in tuberculous spondylitis patients undergoing posterior decompression and instrumentation.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to develop a predictive model for determining perioperative blood transfusion in tuberculous spondylitis patients undergoing posterior decompression and instrumentation. BACKGROUND: Tuberculous spondylitis is a common infection found in the spine. This condition may result in the need of surgical treatment, especially when there is a delay in diagnosis with inadequate antituberculosis drug treatment. The procedure results in high amount of bleeding on many occasions, leading to the higher rate of intraoperative transfusion. We develop a predictive model that can be used to determine blood transfusion requirement in spinal tuberculosis surgery. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 83 tuberculous spondylitis patients who underwent posterior decompression and instrumentation. The clinical characteristics of the patients were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate regression test. The impact and strength of these variables was assessed to predict the probability of intraoperative red blood cell transfusion presence based on unstandardized beta, standard error, receiver operating characteristic, and confluence of sensitivity and specificity curve analyses. Furthermore, validation of this newly proposed predictive scoring system was performed using a set of 45 patients. RESULTS: The factors that significantly affect the need of blood transfusion during posterior spondylitis tuberculosis surgery were BMI (p = 0.005), pre-operative Hb (p < 0.001), number of affected segments (p = 0.042), and duration of surgery (p = 0.003). Our predictive model showed good sensitivity and specificity values based on a large area under the curve (0.913) and strong Pearson's r testing (correlation coefficient of 0.752). Validation set also resulted a large area under the curve (0.905) and strong correlation coefficient of 0.713. CONCLUSION: BMI, pre-operative Hb, number of affected segments, and duration of surgery became the significant factors which correlated to the presence of red blood cell transfusion in patients undergoing posterior spondylitis tuberculosis surgery. This predictive scoring system can be used to further adjust blood matching and inventory, determine intraoperative blood management, and ensure the safety of surgery in a comprehensive manner.

Intramedullary nailing as a treatment for non-unions of femoral shaft fractures after plating failure: A case series.

INTRODUCTION: The management of implant failure in femoral shaft fractures remains a challenging problem for orthopaedic surgeons. This series aim to evaluate the effectiveness of intramedullary (IM) nailing for treating femoral shaft nonunions after implant failure. CASE PRESENTATION: Three patients presented with pain after walking on crutch and limping with history of fixation using plate for femoral shaft fracture. Implant removal was then performed with subsequent refixation using intramedullary nailing with A2FN. The Lower Extremity Functional Score and Visual Analogue Score evaluation showed excellent result in these patients. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: IM nailing is the mainstay of treatment for patients with femoral shaft fractures. This intervention provides support to fractures and aid in union of fractures. Several advantages have been reported in IM nailing, including shorter length of stay, rapid union, and early functional capacity of the limb. Insertion of IM nailing may preserve anatomical structure in the patients, which leads to better improvement of functional capacity. Nailing also limits soft tissue damage. Thus, in patients presented with previous plate failure similar to our patients, IM nailing with reaming is recommended. CONCLUSION: Nonunion after femoral shaft plating are common. Nailing conversion is one of available treatment options to achieve maximum recover in this type of case.

Minimally invasive technique for the abscess drainage in lumbosacral tuberculosis using arthroscopy sheath: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Spinal tuberculosis usually affects the thoracolumbar spine, with only 2-3% involving the lumbosacral region. Lumbosacral tuberculosis can lead to the formation of a presacral abscess. For drainage of the spinal abscess, the presacral region is one of the problematic regions to perform. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is an essential clinical technique for the debridement of the spinal abscess in order to decrease the morbidity acquired by the patient. We presented a case of lumbosacral tuberculosis treated with abscess evacuation using the MIS technique. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 28-year-old male came with the chief complaint of back pain and a lump in the right groin area for four months before admission. Physical examination showed a lump and bilateral positive straight leg raising. Preoperative Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores showed moderate disability and normal function, respectively. Radiologic examinations showed signs of lumbosacral tuberculosis. The patient underwent abscess evacuation using MIS of presacral approach as described for axial lumbar interbody fusion (AxiaLIF), and improvement in ODI score was noted. DISCUSSION: A presacral approach, as what we performed, is a simple approach that can reach the location of the abscess by using fluoroscopic guidance. Abscess evacuation was confirmed by the presence of clear fluid, which indicated that the caseous material had been removed thoroughly, and also, as the clear fluid was no longer noticed. CONCLUSION: The success of this approach depends on the time of surgery. When surgery is delayed, the granulation tissue has been formed, making minimally invasive techniques for surgical evacuation much more difficult.

Peroneal groove deepening as the treatment of peroneal tendon subluxation: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Peroneal tendon subluxation is a relatively rare disorder that is often misdiagnosed as an ankle sprain. It affects mainly young adults, usually during sports activities. It is mostly caused by avulsion of the superior peroneal retinaculum (SPR) from its fibular insertion, which requires surgical intervention, especially for cases of symptomatic chronic peroneal tendon subluxation and/or dislocation. We reported a case of peroneal tendon subluxation of left ankle treated with peroneal groove deepening and retinaculum ligament repair, the objective of which is to illustrate the effectiveness of this procedure. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a thirty-four-year old male with peroneal tendon subluxation of left ankle. The patient was injured while exercising two years prior to admission. He now reported pain and instability on the left ankle. We performed peroneal groove deepening and retinaculum ligament repair to treat this patient. DISCUSSION: Peroneal groove deepening and retinaculum ligament repair shows an excellent clinical outcome; after the procedure, there are no major complications such as infections, wound problems or permanent discomfort. Overall, the result of surgery had been considered satisfactory. Postoperatively, the ankle was placed in a below-knee, non-weight-bearing temporary cast in semi-equinus position for two weeks. CONCLUSION: The incidence rate of peroneal tendon subluxation is relatively low, and surgery is the primary treatment of this type of injury, with various available surgical methods available for the performing surgeon. Peroneal groove deepening and retinaculum ligament repair offers a satisfactory outcome.