Topical tranexamic acid (TXA) is non-inferior to intravenous TXA in adult spine surgery: a meta-analysis.

Tranexamic acid (TXA) has long been utilized in spine surgery and can be administered through intravenous (IV) and topical routes. Although, topical and IV administration of TXA are both effective in decreasing blood loss during spine surgery, complications like deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism have been reported with the use of intravenous TXA (ivTXA). These potential complications may be mitigated through the use of topical TXA (tTXA). To assess optimal dosing protocols and efficacy of topical TXA in spine surgery, Embase, Ovid-MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane, and clinicaltrials.gov were queried for original research on the use of tTXA in adult patients undergoing spine surgery. Data parameters analyzed included blood loss, transfusion rate, thromboembolic, and other complications. Data was synthesized and confidence evaluated according to the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. Nineteen studies were included in the final analysis with 2197 patients. Of the 18 published studies, 9 (50%) displayed high levels of evidence. Topical TXA showed a trend towards a lower risk of transfusion and complications. Protocols that used 1g tTXA showed a significantly reduced risk for transfusion when compared to controls (risk ratio -1.05, 95% CI (-1.62, -0.48); P = 0.94, I2 = 0%). Complications associated with tTXA included DVTs and wound infections. Topical TXA was non-inferior to intravenous TXA with similar efficacy and complication profiles for bleeding control in spine surgery; however, more studies are needed to discern benefits and risks.

Diagnostic utility of different types of somatosensory evoked potential changes in pediatric idiopathic scoliosis correction surgery.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of intraoperative somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) monitoring and types of SSEP changes in predicting the risk of postoperative neurological outcomes during correction surgery for idiopathic scoliosis (IS) in the pediatric age group (≤ 21 years). METHODS: Database review was performed to identify literature on pediatric patients with IS who underwent correction with intraoperative neuromonitoring. The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of transient and persistent SSEP changes and complete SSEP loss in predicting postoperative neurological deficits were calculated. RESULTS: Final analysis included 3778 patients. SSEP changes had a sensitivity of 72.9%, specificity of 96.8%, and DOR of 102.3, while SSEP loss had a sensitivity of 41.8%, specificity of 99.3%, and DOR of 133.2 for predicting new neurologic deficits. Transient and persistent SSEP changes had specificities of 96.8% and 99.1%, and DORs of 16.6 and 59, respectively. CONCLUSION: Intraoperative SSEP monitoring can predict perioperative neurological injury and improve surgical outcomes in pediatric scoliosis fusion surgery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 2. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Characterizing Negative Online Reviews of Spine Surgeons.

DESIGN: Retrospective review. OBJECTIVE: Characterize negative reviews of spine surgeons in the United States. SUMMARY: Physician rating websites significantly influence the selection of doctors by other patients. Negative experiences are impacted by various factors, both clinical and nonclinical, geography, and practice structure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and categorize negative reviews of spine surgeons in the United States, with a focus on surgical versus nonsurgical reviewers. METHODS: Spine surgeons were selected from available online professional society membership directories. A search for reviews was performed on Healthgrades.com, Vitals.com, and RateMDs.com for the past 10 years. Free response reviews were coded by complaint, and qualitative analysis was performed. χ 2 and Fisher exact tests were used to compare categorical variables, and multiple comparisons were adjusted with Benjamini-Hochberg correction. A binary logistic regression model was performed for the top three most mentioned nonclinical and clinical complaint labels. A P -value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 16,695 online reviews were evaluated, including 1690 one-star reviews (10.1%). Among one-star reviews, 64.7% were written by nonsurgical patients and 35.3% by surgical patients. Nonclinical and clinical comments constituted 54.9% and 45.1% of reviews, respectively. Surgeons in the South had more "bedside manner" comments (43.3%, P <0.0001), while Northeast surgeons had more "poor surgical outcome" remarks compared with all other geographic regions (14.4%, P <0.001). Practicing in the South and Northeast were independent predictors of having complaints about "bedside manner" and "poor surgical outcome," respectively. CONCLUSION: Most one-star reviews of spine surgeons were attributed to nonsurgical patients, who tended to be unsatisfied with nonclinical factors, especially "bedside manner." However, there was substantial geographic variation. These results suggest that spine surgeons could benefit from focusing on nonclinical factors (bedside manner), especially among nonoperative patients, and that regional nuances should be considered in delivering spine care. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level- 5.

Formal Radiologist Interpretations of Intraoperative Spine Radiographs Have Low Clinical Value.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical relevance, usefulness, and financial implications of intraoperative radiograph interpretation by radiologists in spine surgery. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Due to rising health care costs, spine surgery is under scrutiny to maximize value-based care. Formal radiographic analysis remains a potential source of unnecessary health care costs, especially for intraoperative radiographs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort analysis was performed on all adult elective spine surgeries at a single institution between July 2020 and July 2021. Demographic and radiographic data were collected, including intraoperative localization and post-instrumentation radiographs. Financial data were obtained through the institution's price estimator. Radiographic characteristics included time from radiographic imaging to completion of radiologist interpretation report, completion of radiologist interpretation report before the conclusion of surgical procedure, clinical relevance, and clinical usefulness. Reports were considered clinically relevant if the spinal level of the procedure was described and clinically useful if completed before the conclusion of the procedure and deemed clinically relevant. RESULTS: Four hundred eighty-one intraoperative localization and post-instrumentation radiographs from 360 patients revealed a median delay of 128 minutes between imaging and completion of the interpretive report. Only 38.9% of reports were completed before the conclusion of surgery. There were 79.4% deemed clinically relevant and only 33.5% were clinically useful. Localization reports were completed more frequently before the conclusion of surgery (67.2% vs. 34.4%) but with lower clinical relevance (90.1% vs. 98.5%) and clinical usefulness (60.3% vs. 33.6%) than post-instrumentation reports. Each patient was charged $32 to $34 for the interpretation fee, cumulating a minimum total cost of $15,392. CONCLUSIONS: Formal radiographic interpretation of intraoperative spine radiographs was of low clinical utility for spine surgeons. Institutions should consider optimizing radiology workflows to improve timeliness and clinical relevance or evaluate the necessity of reflexive consultation to radiology for intraoperative imaging interpretation to ensure that value-based care is maximized during spine surgeries. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3.

Dynamic in vivo 3D atlantooccipital kinematics during multiplanar physiologic motions.

Normal biomechanics of the upper cervical spine, particularly at the atlantooccipital joint, remain poorly characterized. The purpose of this study was to determine the intervertebral kinematics of the atlantooccipital joint (occiput-C1) during three-dimensional in vivo physiologic movements. Twenty healthy young adults performed dynamic flexion/extension, axial rotation, and lateral bending while biplane radiographs were collected at 30 images per second. Motion at occiput-C1 was tracked using a validated volumetric model-based tracking process that matched subject-specific CT-based bone models to the radiographs. The occiput-C1 total range of motion (ROM) and helical axis of motion (HAM) was calculated for each movement. During flexion/extension, the occiput-C1 moved almost exclusively in-plane (ROM: 17.9 ± 6.9°) with high variability in kinematic waveforms (6.3°) compared to the in-plane variability during axial rotation (1.4°) and lateral bending (0.9°) movements. During axial rotation, there was small in-plane motion (ROM: 4.2 ± 2.5°) compared to out-of-plane flexion/extension (ROM: 12.7 ± 5.4°). During lateral bending, motion occurred in-plane (ROM: 9.0 ± 3.1°) and in the plane of flexion/extension (ROM: 7.3 ± 2.7°). The average occiput-C1 axis of rotation intersected the sagittal and coronal planes 7 mm to 18 mm superior to the occipital condyles. The occiput-C1 axis of rotation pointed 60° from the sagittal plane during axial rotation but only 10° from the sagittal plane during head lateral bending. These novel results are foundational for future work on upper cervical spine kinematics.

Modified Clavien-Dindo-Sink Classification System for operative complications in adult spine surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Currently there is no standardized mechanism to describe or compare complications in adult spine surgery. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to modify and validate the Clavien-Dindo-Sink complication classification system for applications in spine surgery. METHODS: The Clavien-Dindo-Sink complication classification system was evaluated and modified for spine surgery by four fellowship-trained spine surgeons using a consensus process. A distinct group of three fellowship-trained spine surgeons completed a randomized electronic survey grading 71 real-life clinical case scenarios. The survey was repeated 2 weeks after its initial completion. Fleiss' and Cohen's kappa (κ) statistics were used to evaluate interrater and intrarater reliabilities, respectively. RESULTS: Overall, interobserver reliability during the first and second rounds of grading was excellent with a κ of 0.847 (95% CI 0.785-0.908) and 0.852 (95% CI 0.791-0.913), respectively. In the first round, interrater reliability ranged from good to excellent with a κ of 0.778 for grade I (95% CI 0.644-0.912), 0.698 for grade II (95% CI 0.564-0.832), 0.861 for grade III (95% CI 0.727-0.996), 0.845 for grade IV-A (95% CI 0.711-0.979), 0.962 for grade IV-B (95% CI 0.828-1.097), and 0.960 for grade V (95% CI 0.826-1.094). Intraobserver reliability testing for all three independent observers was excellent with a κ of 0.971 (95% CI 0.944-0.999) for rater 1, 0.963 (95% CI 0.926-1.001) for rater 2, and 0.926 (95% CI 0.869-0.982) for rater 3. CONCLUSIONS: The Modified Clavien-Dindo-Sink Classification System demonstrates excellent interrater and intrarater reliability in adult spine surgery cases. This system provides a useful framework to better communicate the severity of spine-related complications.