Outcomes following spinal instrumented fusions in patients with parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients represent challenging spinal surgery candidates due to associated frailty and deformity. This study consolidates the literature concerning spinal surgery outcomes in PD versus non-PD patients, to evaluate if PD predisposes patients to worse post-operative outcomes, so that treatment protocols can be optimised. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted of PubMed/Medline, Embase, and Google Scholar databases per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Studies of interest included comparative (PD versus non-PD) cohorts undergoing spinal instrumented fusions. Post-operative clinical outcomes were collated and compared for significance between cohorts. Further analysis was made on outcomes based on the different surgical procedures performed (Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF), Thoracolumbar or Lumbar fusions, Thoracolumbar or Lumbar fusions without Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression fracture (OVCF) patients). All statistical analysis was performed using The R Project for Statistical Computing (version 4.1.2), with a p-value of < 0.05 deemed statistically significant. RESULTS: In total, 2,323,650 patients were included across 16 studies. Of those, 2,308,949 (99.37%) were patients without PD (non-PD), while 14,701 (0.63%) patients had PD at time of surgery. The collective mean age was 68.23 years (PD: 70.14 years vs non-PD: 64.86 years). Comparatively, there were 844,641 males (PD: 4,574; non-PD: 840,067) and 959,908 females (PD: 3,213; non-PD: 956,695). Overall, there were more post-operative complications in the PD cohort. Specifically, PD patients experienced significantly more surgical site infections (p = 0.01), increased rates of revision surgeries (p = 0.04) and increased venous thromboembolic events (p = 0.02) versus the non-PD cohort. In thoracolumbar/lumbar spinal fusions without OVCF patients, the PD cohort had increased rates of revision surgeries (p < 0.01) in comparison to the non-PD cohort. However, when including OVCF patients in thoracolumbar/lumbar spinal fusions, the PD cohort had significantly higher amounts of postoperative complications (p = 0.01), pneumonia (p = 0.02), and revision surgeries (p < 0.01) when compared to the non-PD cohort. CONCLUSION: Although more robust prospective studies are needed, the results of this study highlight the need for advanced wound care management in the postoperative period, both in-hospital and in the community, in addition to comprehensive multidisciplinary care from allied health professionals, with potential for the use of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols in PD patients undergoing spinal instrumented fusions.

Temporal Trends and Predictors of Thirty-Day Readmissions and Emergency Department Visits Following Total Knee Arthroplasty in Ontario Between 2003 and 2016.

BACKGROUND: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is the second most common surgery performed in Canada. Understanding and improving quality metrics associated with such high-volume procedures is of utmost importance to maximize value within the healthcare system, which is a balance between cost and quality. Although rates and predictors of hospital readmission and emergency department (ED) visits following TKA have previously been described in privatized healthcare settings, few studies have evaluated trends in length of stay (LOS), hospital readmissions, and ED visits following TKA in a universal single-payer system. METHODS: Using data from a provincially held and validated registry, the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences, we undertook a review of all 205,152 TKAs performed in the province of Ontario, Canada, between 2003 and 2016. We determined temporal trends in utilization, LOS, readmissions, and ED visits and evaluated patient and provider predictors of hospital readmissions and ED visits using multivariate logistic regression modeling. We also grouped and described the most common reasons for readmission and ED visits based on the available International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision and Tenth Revision coding information. RESULTS: LOS decreased significantly over the study period (P < .0001), from a median of 5 days (10th percentile 3 days, 90th percentile 8 days) in 2003 to a median of 3 days (10th percentile 2 days, 90th percentile 4 days) in 2016. All-cause 30-day readmissions did not change significantly over the study period, but the rate of ED visits increased significantly over time. Predictors of 30-day readmission following TKA included older age, male gender, lower income quartile, not having a postoperative visit with a primary care physician (PCP), increased comorbidities, longer LOS, urgent or revision surgery, admission to a teaching hospital, and discharge to an inpatient rehabilitation facility. Variables that predicted increased odds of an ED visit included older age, male gender, lower income quartile, not having a postop visit with a PCP, increasing comorbidities, year of surgery, longer LOS, and revision surgery. Admission to a teaching hospital and discharge to an inpatient rehabilitation facility showed a trend toward increased odds of an ED visit. CONCLUSIONS: We identified a significant increase in ED visits following TKA in Ontario between 2003 and 2016, with no corresponding increase in hospital readmissions despite a significant temporal trend toward shorter LOS. Predictors of ED visits and readmissions were similar, including male gender, lower income, higher comorbidities, and lacking a PCP visit postoperatively. Increased rates of ED visits following TKA in Ontario represent a quality problem, as they are associated with increased cost to the public healthcare system without any substantial benefit. Interventions aimed at redirecting patients from the ED for minor postoperative concerns should be investigated, as this is likely to improve care by reducing costs, improving efficiency, and enhancing patient experience.

The efficacy of anchored stand-alone spacers in comparison to conventional cage and plate in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgery: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials for clinical and radiological outcomes.

Introduction: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is commonly performed with cage and plate constructs to stabilise diseased or injured cervical segments. Despite it being a commonly performed procedure, there are notable rates of associated morbidity reported in the literature. Stand-alone spacers represent a novel form of instrumentation to conventional cage and plate constructs. Research question: Do stand-alone spacers have improved operative characteristics and postoperative outcomes in ACDF cohorts when compared to cage and plate constructs? Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted of PubMed/Medline, Embase and Google Scholar databases per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes guidelines. Studies of interest included cage and plate instrumentation versus anchored stand-alone spacers for patients undergoing ACDF. Pre- and post-operative clinical and radiological outcomes were collated and compared for significance between cohorts. Results: 10 RCTs were identified and included with 779 patients total. Mean age of the entire cohort was 50.1 years. 62% (483/779) of the cohort were male. 384 patients underwent ACDF with stand-alone cage, while 395 had ACDF with conventional cage and plate. Stand-alone spacers significantly outperformed conventional instrumentation in terms of estimated blood loss (p < 0.01), total postoperative complications (p < 0.01), dysphagia rates (p = 0.04) and adjacent segment disease (p = 0.04). Non-inferiority was evident in both patient reported outcome measures and radiological outcomes. Conclusion: This meta-analysis highlights the efficacy of stand-alone spacers for the management of primarily cervical spondylitic disease for both single-level and multi-level pathology, and thus presents an attractive alternative to conventional instrumentation for patients undergoing ACDF surgery.

Regenerative Medicine Modalities for the Treatment of Degenerative Disk Disease.

Degenerative disk disease is a pathologic state associated with axial skeletal pain, radiculopathy, and myelopathy, and will inevitably increase in prevalence in parallel with an aging population. The objective of regenerative medicine is to convert the inflammatory, catabolic microenvironment of degenerative disease into an anti-inflammatory, anabolic environment. This comprehensive review discusses and outlines both in vitro and in vivo efficacy of regenerative treatment modalities for degenerative disk disease, such as; mesenchymal stem cells, gene therapy, tissue engineering, and biologic treatments. To date, clinical applications have been limited secondary to a lack of standardized high quality clinical data. Additional research should focus on determining the optimal cellular makeup and concentration for each of these interventions. Nevertheless, modern medicine provides a new avenue of confronting disease, with methods surpassing traditional methods of removing the pathology in question, as regenerative medicine provides the opportunity to recover from the diseased state.