Lumbar Pedicular Stress Fracture Post-laminectomy: a Case Report.

We present the case of a 74-year-old male suffering from degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis with neurogenic claudication resulting in reduced walking distance. MR imaging indicated spinal canal stenosis at the level of L3-L4 and L4-L5 due to degenerative discopathy, discal extrusion, and facet arthrosis. After conservative treatment had failed, a multilevel laminectomy was performed. Four months postoperatively, the patient developed a stress fracture of the L4 pedicle. Pedicular stress fractures are uncommon and few case reports are found in the literature. Usually, they occur due to contralateral spondylolysis or congenital anomalies. The findings in this case however suggest a change of biomechanical load over the pedicle due to spinal surgery. An overview of the literature concerning spinal instability after laminectomy is provided. Spinal decompressive surgery can significantly change the biomechanical forces on the spinal structures, resulting in important postoperative complications. Whether pedicle stress fracture in this case is a result of pre- or postoperative circumstances remains a subject for discussion.

[Low back and radicular pain : which management in 2018 ?] / Comment je traite Les lombalgies et douleurs radiculaires : quelle prise en charge en 2018 ?

Both frequent reason for consultation and cause of absence at work, low back pain is a notorious public health concern. The Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre (KCE) has been surrounded by 31 clinicians from different disciplines to develop a guideline covering the entire management of low back and radicular pain. A recently published guideline of the British National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) was largely used as a starting point and adapted to the Belgian context.

A la fois motif de consultation et cause d'absence au travail très fréquents, les lombalgies sont un enjeu de santé publique notoire. Le Centre fédéral d'Expertise des Soins de Santé (KCE) s'est entouré de 31 cliniciens de différentes disciplines pour élaborer un guide de pratique clinique couvrant l'entièreté de la prise en charge des douleurs lombaires et radiculaires. Ce guide se base sur le tout récent «guideline¼ britannique du National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) dont chaque recommandation a été adaptée au contexte belge.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Dutch version of the core outcome measures index for low back pain.

PURPOSE: The core outcome measures index (COMI) is a validated multidimensional instrument for assessing patient-reported outcome in patients with back problems. The aim of the present study is to translate the COMI into Dutch and validate it for use in native Dutch speakers with low back pain. METHODS: The COMI was translated into Dutch following established guidelines and avoiding region-specific terminology. A total of 89 Dutch-speaking patients with low back pain were recruited from 8 centers, located in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. Patients completed a questionnaire booklet including the validated Dutch version of the Roland Morris disability questionnaire, EQ-5D, the WHOQoL-Bref, the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain, and the Dutch translation of the COMI. Two weeks later, patients completed the Dutch COMI translation again, with a transition scale assessing changes in their condition. RESULTS: The patterns of correlations between the individual COMI items and the validated reference questionnaires were comparable to those reported for other validated language versions of the COMI. The intraclass correlation for the COMI summary score was 0.90 (95% CI 0.84-0.94). It was 0.75 and 0.70 for the back and leg pain score, respectively. The minimum detectable change for the COMI summary score was 1.74. No significant differences were observed between repeated scores of individual COMI items or for the summary score. CONCLUSION: The reproducibility of the Dutch translation of the COMI is comparable to that of other validated spine outcome measures. The COMI items correlate well with the established item-specific scores. The Dutch translation of the COMI, validated by this work, is a reliable and valuable tool for spine centers treating Dutch-speaking patients and can be used in registries and outcome studies.

Prevalence and impact of childhood adversities and post-traumatic stress disorder in women with fibromyalgia and chronic widespread pain.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the prevalence of different types of childhood adversities (CA) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in female patients with Fibromyalgia or Chronic Widespread Pain (FM/CWP) compared to patients with Functional Dyspepsia (FD) and achalasia. In FM/CWP, we also investigated the association between CA and PTSD on the one hand and pain severity on the other. METHODS: Patient samples consisted of 154 female FM/CWP, 83 female FD and 53 female achalasia patients consecutively recruited from a tertiary care hospital. Well-validated self-report questionnaires were used to investigate CA and PTSD. RESULTS: Forty-nine per cent of FM/CWP patients reported at least 1 type of CA, compared to 39.7% of FD patients and 23.4% of achalasia patients (p < 0.01). The prevalence of CA did not differ significantly between FM/CWP and FD, but both groups had a higher prevalence of CA compared to both achalasia and healthy controls (p < 0.01). FM/CWP patients were six times more likely to report PTSD than both FD (p < 0.001) and achalasia (p < 0.001) patients. CONCLUSION: In FM/CWP, PTSD comorbidity, but not CA, was associated with self-reported pain severity and PTSD severity mediated the relationship between CA and pain severity. In summary, the prevalence of CA is higher in FM/CWP compared to achalasia, but similar to FD. However, PTSD is more prevalent in FM/CWP compared to FD and associated with higher pain intensity in FM/CWP. SIGNIFICANCE: As expected and has been shown in other functional disorders, we found elevated levels of childhood adversity in FM/CWP patients. Results of this study however suggest that the impact of childhood adversity (i.e. whether such events have led to the development of PTSD symptoms), rather than the mere presence of such adversity, is of crucial importance in FM/CWP patients. Screening for PTSD symptoms should be an essential part of the assessment process in patients suffering from FM/CWP, and both prevention and intervention efforts should take into account PTSD symptoms and their impact on pain severity and general functioning.

Self-critical perfectionism and its relationship to fatigue and pain in the daily flow of life in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Research suggests that the personality factor of self-critical or maladaptive perfectionism may be implicated in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). However, it is not clear whether self-critical perfectionism (SCP) also predicts daily symptoms in CFS. Method In the present study we investigated whether SCP predicted fatigue and pain over a 14-day period in a sample of 90 CFS patients using a diary method approach. After completing the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) as a measure of SCP, patients were asked each day for 14 days to complete Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) of fatigue, pain and severity of depression. Data were analysed using multilevel analysis. RESULTS: The results from unconditional models revealed considerable fluctuations in fatigue over the 14 days, suggesting strong temporal variability in fatigue. By contrast, pain was relatively stable over time but showed significant inter-individual differences. Congruent with expectations, fixed-effect models showed that SCP was prospectively associated with higher daily fatigue and pain levels over the 14-day period, even after controlling for levels of depression. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to show that SCP predicts both fatigue and pain symptoms in CFS in the daily course of life. Hence, therapeutic interventions aimed at targeting SCP should be considered in the treatment of CFS patients with such features.

Rehabilitation of decreased motor performance in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: should we treat low effort capacity or reduced effort tolerance?

AIM: The aetiology, pathophysiology, diagnostic delineation and treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) remain a matter of debate. Here some aspects of the debate are elucidated, with a particular focus on the patients' decreased motor performance. HYPOTHESIS: The pathophysiological basis of decreased motor performance in CFS may, theoretically, involve three components: (1) a peripheral energetic deficit (impaired oxidative metabolism and/or physical deconditioning); (2) a central perceptual disturbance (higher effort sense or increased 'interoception'); and (3) a fundamental failure of the neurobiological stress system, leading to an abnormal 'sickness response'. It is proposed that the first two components may lead to low effort capacity, while the third component may lead to reduced effort tolerance. Although there is evidence for low effort capacity influencing symptoms and functional limitations in CFS, it is assumed that reduced effort tolerance might be the primary disturbance in CFS. DIAGNOSTIC IMPLICATIONS: Distinguishing low effort capacity and reduced effort tolerance may contribute to a refinement of current diagnostic criteria of CFS and the identification of subgroups. THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATIONS: The above-mentioned distinction may make it possible to formulate a rationale for an effective implementation and adequate outcome evaluation of rehabilitation strategies in CFS. RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS: This new heuristic framework may inform future research aimed at disentangling the complex determination of impaired motor performance in CFS, as well as studies aimed at customizing treatment to different subtypes of patients.

How relevant are exercise capacity measures for evaluating treatment effects in chronic fatigue syndrome? Results from a prospective, multidisciplinary outcome study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcome of a multidisciplinary treatment programme for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, including health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and psychosocial variables, and exercise capacity measures. DESIGN: A six-month prospective outcome study. SETTING: University outpatient rehabilitation clinic; group setting. SUBJECTS: One hundred and sixteen women fulfilling chronic fatigue syndrome criteria. INTERVENTIONS: Cognitive behaviourally and graded exercise-based strategies; emphasis on adaptive lifestyle changes. MEASURES: Short Form General Health Survey (SF-36); Symptom Checklist (SCL-90); Causal Attribution List (CAL); Self-Efficacy Scale (SE); maximum progressive bicycle ergometer test with respiratory gas analysis; and isokinetic leg strength test, before and after treatment. RESULTS: The total group significantly improved on nearly all reported HRQoL/psychosocial variables. Changes in exercise capacity measures were rather modest and did not correlate or only weakly correlated with HRQoL/psychosocial variables. Subgroup analyses indicated that less fit patients improved significantly more on exercise capacity measures than their more fit counterparts. Patients who were fitter at baseline scored better on pretreatment HRQoL/psychosocial variables, but both subgroups improved similarly on these variables. CONCLUSIONS: Health-related quality of life and psychosocial functioning in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome improves after a six-month cognitive behaviourally and graded exercise-based multidisciplinary treatment programme. Increase in exercise capacity measures is not a necessary condition for reported improvements, except for less fit patients.