Streamlining the Journey of Research Into Clinical Practice: Making Your Patients and Practice Flourish Optimizing Management and Minimizing Risk of Osteoporotic Vertebral Fractures - Perspectives of the AO Spine KF Trauma and Infection Group Key Opinion Leaders.

STUDY DESIGN: Literature review with clinical recommendations. OBJECTIVE: To highlight important studies about osteoporotic spinal fractures (OF) that may be integrated into clinical practice based on the assessment of the AO Spine KF Trauma and Infection group key opinion leaders. METHODS: 4 important studies about OF that may affect current clinical practice of spinal surgeons were selected and reviewed with the aim of providing clinical recommendations to streamline the journey of research into clinical practice. Recommendations were graded as strong or conditional following the GRADE methodology. RESULTS: 4 studies were selected. Article 1: a validation of the Osteoporotic Fracture (OF)-score to treat OF fractures. Conditional recommendation to incorporate the OF score in the management of fractures to improve clinical results. Article 2: a randomized multicenter study comparing romosozumab/alendronate vs alendronate to decrease the incidence of new vertebral fractures. Strong recommendation that the group receiving romosozumab/alendronate had a decreased risk of new OF when compared with the alendronate only group only. Article 3: a systematic literature review of spinal orthoses in the management of. Conditional recommendation to prescribe a spinal orthosis to decrease pain and improve quality of life. Article 4: post-traumatic deformity after OF. A conditional recommendation that middle column injury and pre-injury use of steroids may lead to high risk of post-traumatic deformity after OF. CONCLUSIONS: Management of patients with OF is still complex and challenging. This review provides some recommendations that may help surgeons to better manage these patients and improve their clinical practice.

Streamlining the Journey of Research Into Clinical Practice: Making Your Patients and Practice Flourish Understanding and Setting Treatment Expectations for Patients With Metastatic Spine Tumors.

STUDY DESIGN: Literature review with clinical recommendation. OBJECTIVE: A concise curation of the latest spine literature exploring the relationship between expectations and satisfaction for patients with metastatic spinal disease (MSD). Deliver recommendations to practicing clinicians regarding interpretation and utilisation of this evidence. METHODS: The latest spine literature in the topic of factors affecting the expectations of patients with MSD was reviewed and clinical recommendations were formulated. Recommendations are graded as strong or Conditional. RESULTS: 5 articles were selected. Article 1: risk factors for the development of dissatisfaction from a cohort of 362 MSD patients. Strong recommendation to incorporate risk factor assessment when considering treatment. Article 2: systematic review assessing the relationship between pre-operative patient expectations and subsequent satisfaction in allied disciplines. Conditional recommendation to optimize patient expectation to positively modify patient satisfaction. Article 3: qualitative study of how clinicians, from different specialties, counsel patients with MSD pre-treatment. Strong recommendation to use a multidisciplinary approach. Article 4 qualitative study of how MSD patients experience their pre-treatment counselling and how that affected their appreciation of treatment success. Conditional recommendation to furnish patients with tailored, expected outcomes in the context of systemic progression. Article 5 Design and validation of a pre-treatment questionnaire specific to MSD. A conditional recommendation to incorporate this questionnaire in clinical and research MSD practice. CONCLUSION: Patients with MSD are approaching end of life care and high levels of treatment satisfaction are crucial at this juncture. The role of expectation management and comprehensive counselling is critical.

Out-of-hours emergent surgery for degenerative spinal disease in Canada: a retrospective cohort study from a national registry.

Background: Spinal degenerative disease represents a growing burden on our healthcare system, yet little is known about longitudinal trends in access and care. Our goal was to provide an essential portrait of surgical volume trends for degenerative spinal pathologies within Canada. Methods: The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) database was used to identify all patients receiving surgery for a degenerative spinal condition from 2006 to 2019. Trends in number of interventions, unscheduled vs scheduled hospitalizations, in-hours vs out-of-hours interventions, resource utilization and adverse events were analyzed retrospectively using linear regression models. Confidence intervals were reported in the expected count ratio scale (CR). Findings: A total of 338,629 spinal interventions and 256,360 hospitalizations between 2006 and 2019 were analyzed. The mean and SD of the annual mean age of patients was 55.5 (SD 1.6) for elective hospitalizations and 55.6 (SD 1.6) for emergent hospitalizations. The proportion of female patients was 47.8% (91,789/192,027) for elective hospitalizations and 41.4% (26,633/64,333) for emergent hospitalizations. Elective hospitalizations increased an average of 2.0% per year, with CR = 1.020 (95% CI 1.017-1.023, p < 0.0001) while emergent hospitalizations exhibited more rapid growth with an average 3.4% annually, with CR 1.034 (95% CI 1.027-1.040, p < 0.0001). «In-hours ¼ surgeries increased on average 2.7% per year, with CR 1.027 (95% CI 1.021-1.033, p < 0.0001), while « out-of-hours ¼ surgeries increased 6.1% annually, with CR 1.061 (95% CI 1.051-1.071, p < 0.0001). The resource utilization for unscheduled hospitalizations approximates two and a half times that of scheduled hospitalizations. The proportions of spinal interventions with at least one adverse event increased on average 6.3% per year, with CR 1.063 (95% CI 1.049-1.077, p < 0.0001). Interpretation: This study provides novel data critical for all providers and stakeholders. The rapid growth of emergent out-of-hours hospitalizations demonstrates that the needs of this growing patient population have far exceeded health-care resource allocations. Future studies will analyze the health-related quality of life implications of this system shift and identify demographic and socioeconomic inequities in access to surgical care. Funding: This work was funded by the Bob and Trish Saunders Spine Research Fund through The VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation. The funder of the study had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the manuscript.

Patient-Reported and Clinical Outcomes of Surgically Treated Patients With Symptomatic Spinal Metastases: Results From Epidemiology, Process, and Outcomes of Spine Oncology (EPOSO), a Prospective, Multi-Institutional and International Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The palliative impact of spine surgery for metastatic disease is evolving with improvements in surgical technique and multidisciplinary cancer care. The goal of this study was to prospectively evaluate long-term clinical outcomes including health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) measures, using spine cancer-specific patient-reported-outcome (PRO) measures, in patients with symptomatic spinal metastases who underwent surgical management. METHODS: The Epidemiology, Process, and Outcomes of Spine Oncology (EPOSO, ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01825161) trial is a prospective-observational cohort study that included 10 specialist centers in North America and Europe. Patients aged 18 to 75 years who underwent surgery for spinal metastases were included. Prospective assessments included both spine tumor-specific and generic PRO tools which were collected for a minimum of 2 years post-treatment or until death. RESULTS: Two hundred and eighty patients (51.8% female, mean age 57.9 years) were included. At presentation, the mean Charlson Comorbidity Index was 6.0, 35.7% had neurological deficits as defined by the American Spinal Cord Injury Association scores, 47.2% had high-grade epidural spinal cord compression (2-3), and 89.6% had impending or frank instability as measured by a Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score of ≥7. The most common primary tumor sites were breast (20.2%), lung (18.8%), kidney (16.2%), and prostate (6.5%). The median overall survival postsurgery was 501 days, and the 2-year progression-free-survival rate was 38.4%. Compared with baseline, significant and durable improvements in HRQOL were observed at the 6-week, 12-week, 26-week, 1-year, and 2-year follow-up assessments from a battery of PRO questionnaires including the spine cancer-specific, validated, Spine Oncology Study Group Outcomes Questionnaire v2.0, the Short Form 36 version 2, EuroQol-5 Dimension (3L), and pain numerical rating scale score. CONCLUSION: Multi-institutional, prospective-outcomes data confirm that surgical decompression and/or stabilization provides meaningful and durable improvements in multiple HRQOL domains, including spine-specific outcomes based on the Spine Oncology Study Group Outcomes Questionnaire v2.0, for patients with metastatic spine disease.

Pre-operative spine tumour embolization: Clinical outcomes and effect of embolization completeness.

INTRODUCTION: To assess the association between the impact of the completeness of pre-operative spine tumour embolisation and clinical outcomes, including estimated blood loss (EBL), neurological status and complications. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of all preoperative spine tumour embolisation procedures performed over 11 years by a single operator (2007-2018) at Vancouver General Hospital on 44 consecutive patients (mean age 57; 77% males) with 46 embolisation procedures, of which surgery was done en bloc in 26 cases and intralesional in the remaining 20. A multivariable negative binomial regression model was fit to examine the association between EBL and surgery type, tumour characteristics, embolisation completeness and operative duration. RESULTS: Among intralesional surgeries, complete versus incomplete embolisation was associated with reduced blood loss (772 vs 1428 mL, P < 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in neurological outcomes or complications between groups. Highly vascular tumours correlated with greater blood loss than their less vascular counterparts, but tumour location did not have a statistically significant effect. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence in support of our hypothesis that complete as opposed to incomplete tumour embolisation correlates with reduced blood loss in intralesional surgeries. Randomised control trials with larger samples are necessary to confirm this benefit and to ascertain other potential clinical benefits.

Preoperative expectations of patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy: an observational study from the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network.

BACKGROUND: Despite an abundance of literature on degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM), little is known about preoperative expectations of these patients. PURPOSE: The primary objective was to describe patient preoperative expectations. Secondary objectives included identifying patient characteristics associated with high preoperative expectations and to determine if expectations varied depending on myelopathy severity. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective study of a prospective multicenter, observational cohort of patients with DCM. PATIENT SAMPLE: Patients who consented to undergo surgical treatment between January 2019 and September 2022 were included. OUTCOMES MEASURES: An 11-domain expectation questionnaire was completed preoperatively whereby patients quantified the expected change in each domain. METHODS: The most important expected change was captured. A standardized expectation score was calculated as the sum of each expectation divided by the maximal possible score. The high expectation group was defined by patients who had an expectation score above the 75th percentile. Predictors of patients with high expectations were determined using multivariable logistic regression models. RESULTS: There were 262 patients included. The most important patient expectation was preventing neurological worsening (40.8%) followed by improving balance when standing or walking (14.5%), improving independence in everyday activities (10.3%), and relieving arm tingling, burning and numbness (10%). Patients with mild myelopathy were more likely to select no worsening as the most important expected change compared to patients with severe myelopathy (p<.01). Predictors of high patient expectations were: having fewer comorbidities (OR -0.30 for every added comorbidity, 95% CI -0.59 to -0.10, p=.01), a shorter duration of symptoms (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.35-1.19, p=.02), no contribution from "failure of other treatments" on the decision to undergo surgery (OR 1.49, 95% CI 0.56-2.71, p=.02) and more severe neck pain (OR 0.19 for 1 point increase, 95% CI 0.05-0.37, p=.01). CONCLUSIONS: Most patients undergoing surgery for DCM expect prevention of neurological decline, better functional status, and improvement in their myelopathic symptoms. Stopping neurological deterioration is the most important expected outcomes by patients.

Factors associated with increased length of stay in degenerative cervical spine surgery: a cohort analysis from the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network.

OBJECTIVE: Postoperative length of stay (LOS) significantly contributes to healthcare costs and resource utilization. The primary goal of this study was to identify patient, clinical, surgical, and institutional variables that influence LOS after elective surgery for degenerative conditions of the cervical spine. The secondary objectives were to examine the variability in LOS and institutional practices used to decrease LOS. METHODS: This was a multicenter observational retrospective cohort study of patients enrolled in the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network (CSORN) between January 2015 and October 2020 who underwent elective anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) (1-3 levels) or posterior cervical fusion (PCF) (between C2 and T2) with/without decompression for degenerative conditions of the cervical spine. Prolonged LOS was defined as LOS greater than the median for the ACDF and PCF populations. The principal investigators at each participating CSORN healthcare institution completed a survey to capture institutional practices implemented to reduce postoperative LOS. RESULTS: In total, 1228 patients were included (729 ACDF and 499 PCF patients). The median (IQR) LOS for ACDF and PCF were 1.0 (1.0) day and 5.0 (4.0) days, respectively. Predictors of prolonged LOS after ACDF were female sex, myelopathy diagnosis, lower baseline SF-12 mental component summary score, multilevel ACDF, and perioperative adverse events (AEs) (p < 0.05). Predictors of prolonged LOS after PCF were nonsmoking status, education less than high school, lower baseline numeric rating scale score for neck pain and EQ5D score, higher baseline Neck Disability Index score, and perioperative AEs (p < 0.05). Myelopathy did not significantly predict prolonged LOS within the PCF cohort after multivariate analysis. Of the 8 institutions (57.1%) with an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol or standardized protocol, only 3 reported using an ERAS protocol specific to patients undergoing ACDF or PCF. CONCLUSIONS: Patient and clinical factors predictive of prolonged LOS after ACDF and PCF are highly variable, warranting individual consideration for possible mitigation. Perioperative AEs remained a consistent independent predictor of prolonged LOS in both cohorts, highlighting the importance of preventing intra- and postoperative complications.

The Effects of Peri-Operative Adverse Events on Clinical and Patient-Reported Outcomes After Surgery for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: An Observational Cohort Study from the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is a lack of data examining the effects of perioperative adverse events (AEs) on long-term outcomes for patients undergoing surgery for degenerative cervical myelopathy. We aimed to investigate associations between the occurrence of perioperative AEs and coprimary outcomes: (1) modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) score and (2) Neck Disability Index (NDI) score. METHODS: We analyzed data from 800 patients prospectively enrolled in the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network multicenter observational study. The Spine AEs Severity system was used to collect intraoperative and postoperative AEs. Patients were assessed at up to 2 years after surgery using the NDI and the mJOA scale. We used a linear mixed-effect regression to assess the influence of AEs on longitudinal outcome measures as well as multivariable logistic regression to assess factors associated with meeting minimal clinically important difference (MCID) thresholds at 1 year. RESULTS: There were 167 (20.9%) patients with minor AEs and 36 (4.5%) patients with major AEs. The occurrence of major AEs was associated with an average increase in NDI of 6.8 points (95% CI: 1.1-12.4, P = .019) and reduction of 1.5 points for mJOA scores (95% CI: -2.3 to -0.8, P < .001) up to 2 years after surgery. Occurrence of major AEs reduced the odds of patients achieving MCID targets at 1 year after surgery for mJOA (odds ratio 0.23, 95% CI: 0.086-0.53, P = .001) and for NDI (odds ratio 0.34, 95% CI: 0.11-0.84, P = .032). CONCLUSION: Major AEs were associated with reduced functional gains and worse recovery trajectories for patients undergoing surgery for degenerative cervical myelopathy. Occurrence of major AEs reduced the probability of achieving mJOA and NDI MCID thresholds at 1 year. Both minor and major AEs significantly increased health resource utilization by reducing the proportion of discharges home and increasing length of stay.

Differences in the surgical management of degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis based on self-reported sex: analysis of the CSORN prospective DLS study.

OBJECTIVE: Surgical treatment of degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DLS) reliably improves patient-reported quality of life; however, patient population heterogeneity, in addition to other factors, ensures ongoing equipoise in choosing the ideal surgical treatment. Surgeon preference for fusion or decompression alone influences surgical treatment decision-making. Meanwhile, at presentation, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) differ considerably between females and males. The aims of this study were to determine whether there exists a difference in the rates of decompression and fusion versus decompression alone based on patient-reported sex, and to determine if widely accepted indications for fusion justify any observed differences or if surgeon preference plays a role. METHODS: This study is a retrospective cohort analysis of patients enrolled in the Canadian Spine Outcomes Research Network (CSORN) DLS study, a multicentered Canadian prospective study, investigating the surgical management and outcome of DLS. Decompression and fusion rates, patient characteristics, preoperative PROMs, and radiographic measures were compared between males and females before and after propensity score matching. RESULTS: In the unmatched cohort, female patients were more likely to undergo decompression and fusion than male patients. Females were more likely to have the recognized indications for fusion, including kyphotic disc angle, higher spondylolisthesis grade and slip percentage, and patient-reported back pain. Other radiographic findings associated with the decision to fuse, including facet effusion, facet distraction, or facet angle, were not more prevalent in females. After propensity score matching for demographic and radiographic characteristics, similar proportions of male and female patients underwent decompression and fusion and decompression alone. CONCLUSIONS: Although it remains unclear who should or should not undergo fusion, in addition to surgical decompression of DLS, female patients undergo fusion at a higher rate than their male counterparts. After matching baseline radiographic factors indicating fusion, this analysis showed that the decision to fuse was not biased by sex differences. Rather, the higher proportion of females undergoing fusion is largely explained by the radiographic and clinical indications for fusion, suggesting that specific clinical and anatomical features of this condition are indeed different between sexes.

Anterior vs Posterior Surgery for Patients With Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: An Observational Study From the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The advantages and disadvantages of anterior vs posterior surgical approaches for patients with progressive degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) remain uncertain. Our primary objective was to evaluate patient-reported disability at 1 year after surgery. Our secondary objectives were to evaluate differences in patient profiles selected for each approach in routine clinical practice and to compare neurological function, neck and arm pain, health-related quality of life, adverse events, and rates of reoperations. METHODS: We analyzed data from patients with DCM who were enrolled in an ongoing multicenter prospective observational cohort study. We controlled for differences in baseline characteristics and numbers of spinal levels treated using multivariable logistic regression. Adverse events were collected according to the Spinal Adverse Events Severity protocol. RESULTS: Among 559 patients, 261 (47%) underwent anterior surgery while 298 (53%) underwent posterior surgery. Patients treated posteriorly had significantly worse DCM severity and a greater number of vertebral levels involved. After adjusting for confounders, there was no significant difference between approaches for odds of achieving the minimum clinically important difference for the Neck Disability Index (odds ratio 1.23, 95% CI 0.82 to 1.86, P = .31). There was also no significant difference for change in modified Japanese Orthopedic Association scores, and differences in neck and arm pain and health-related quality of life did not exceed minimum clinically important differences. Patients treated anteriorly experienced greater rates of dysphagia, whereas patients treated posteriorly experienced greater rates of wound complications, neurological complications, and reoperations. CONCLUSION: Patients selected for posterior surgery had worse DCM and a greater number of vertebral levels involved. Despite this, anterior and posterior surgeries were associated with similar improvements in disability, neurological function, pain, and quality of life. Anterior surgery had a more favorable profile of adverse events, which suggests it might be a preferred option when feasible.

Gender and Sex Differences in Health-related Quality of Life, Clinical Outcomes and Survival after Treatment of Metastatic Spine Disease.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review of prospective, multicenter and international cohort study. OBJECTIVE: To describe the effect of gender on HRQoL, clinical outcomes and survival for patients with spinal metastases treated with either surgery and/or radiation. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Gender differences in health-related outcomes are demonstrated in numerous studies, with women experiencing worse outcomes and receiving lower standards of care than men, however, the influence that gender has on low health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and clinical outcomes after spine surgery remains unclear. METHODS: Patient demographic data, overall survival, treatment details, perioperative complications, and HRQoL measures including EQ-5D, pain NRS, the short form 36 version 2 (SF-36v2) and the Spine Oncology Study Group Outcomes Questionnaire (SOSGOQ2.0) were reviewed. Patients were stratified by sex, and a separate sensitivity analysis that excluded gender-specific cancers (i.e., breast, prostate, etc.) was performed. RESULTS: The study cohort included 207 female and 183 male patients, with age, smoking status, and site of primary cancer being significantly different between the two cohorts (P<0.001). Both males and females experienced significantly improved SOSGOQ2.0, EQ-5D, and pain NRS scores at all study time points from baseline (P<0.001). Upon sensitivity analysis, (gender-specific cancers removed from analysis), the significant improvement in SOSGOQ physical, mental, and social subdomains and on SF-36 domains disappeared for females. Males experienced higher rates of postoperative complications. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis of both the overall and sensitivity analysis cohorts showed females lived longer than males after treatment (P=0.001 and 0.043, respectively). CONCLUSION: Both males and females experienced significantly improved HRQoL scores after treatment, but females demonstrated longer survival and a lower complication rate. This study suggests that gender may be a prognostic factor in survival and clinical outcomes for patients undergoing treatment for spine metastases and should be taken into consideration when counseling patients accordingly.

Effectiveness of prophylactic intranasal photodynamic disinfection therapy and chlorhexidine gluconate body wipes for surgical site infection prophylaxis in adult spine surgery.

BACKGROUND: Current measures to prevent spinal surgical site infection (SSI) lack compliance and lead to antimicrobial resistance. We aimed to examine the effectiveness of bundled preoperative intranasal photodynamic disinfection therapy (nPDT) and chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) body wipes in the prophylaxis of spine SSIs in adults, as well as determine our institutional savings attributable to the use of this strategy and identify adverse events reported with nPDT-CHG. METHODS: We performed a 14-year prospective observational interrupted time-series study in adult (age > 18 yr) patients undergoing emergent or elective spine surgery with 3 time-specific cohorts: before rollout of our institution's nPDT-CHG program (2006-2010), during rollout (2011-2014) and after rollout (2015-2019). We used unadjusted bivariate analysis to test for temporal changes across patient and surgical variables, and segmented regression to estimate the effect of nPDT-CHG on the annual SSI incidence rates per period. We used 2 models to estimate the cost of nPDT-CHG to prevent 1 additional SSI per year and the annual cumulative cost savings through SSI prevention. RESULTS: Over the study period, 13 493 patients (mean 964 per year) underwent elective or emergent spine surgery. From 2006 to 2019, the mean age, mean Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score and mean Spine Surgical Invasiveness Index (SSII) score increased from 48.4 to 58.1 years, from 1.7 to 2.6, and from 15.4 to 20.5, respectively (p < 0.001). Unadjusted analysis confirmed a significant decrease in the annual number (74.6 to 26.8) and incidence (7.98% to 2.67%) of SSIs with nPDT-CHG (p < 0.001). After adjustment for mean age, mean CCI score and mean SSII score, segmented regression showed an absolute reduction in the annual SSI incidence rate of 3.36% per year (p < 0.001). The estimated annual cost to prevent 1 additional SSI per year was about $1350-$1650, and the estimated annual cumulative cost savings were $2 484 856-$2 495 016. No adverse events were reported with nPDT-CHG. CONCLUSION: Preoperative nPDT-CHG administration is an effective prophylactic strategy for spinal SSIs, with significant cost savings. Given its rapid action, minimal risk of antimicrobial resistance, broad-spectrum activity and high compliance rate, preoperative nPDT-CHG decolonization should be the standard of care for all patients undergoing emergent or elective spine surgery.

Endocytosis and Endocytic Motifs across the Connexin Gene Family.

Proteins fated to be internalized by clathrin-mediated endocytosis require an endocytic motif, where AP-2 or another adaptor protein can bind and recruit clathrin. Tyrosine and di-leucine-based sorting signals are such canonical motifs. Connexin 43 (Cx43) has three canonical tyrosine-based endocytic motifs, two of which have been previously shown to recruit clathrin and mediate its endocytosis. In addition, di-leucine-based motifs have been characterized in the Cx32 C-terminal domain and shown to mediate its endocytosis. Here, we examined the amino acid sequences of all 21 human connexins to identify endocytic motifs across the connexin gene family. We find that although there is limited conservation of endocytic motifs between connexins, 14 of the 21 human connexins contain one or more canonical tyrosine or di-leucine-based endocytic motif in their C-terminal or intracellular loop domain. Three connexins contain non-canonical (modified) di-leucine motifs. However, four connexins (Cx25, Cx26, Cx31, and Cx40.1) do not harbor any recognizable endocytic motif. Interestingly, live cell time-lapse imaging of different GFP-tagged connexins that either contain or do not contain recognizable endocytic motifs readily undergo endocytosis, forming clearly identifiable annular gap junctions when expressed in HeLa cells. How connexins without defined endocytic motifs are endocytosed is currently not known. Our results demonstrate that an array of endocytic motifs exists in the connexin gene family. Further analysis will establish whether the sites we identified in this in silico analysis are legitimate endocytic motifs.

Temporal analysis of complication rates of cervical spine surgery for degenerative spine disease between younger and older cohorts using the CSORN registry: Is age just a number?

STUDY DESIGN: An ambispective review of consecutive cervical spine surgery patients enrolled in the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network (CSORN) between January 2015 and September 2019. PURPOSE: To compare complication rates of degenerative cervical spine surgery over time between older (> 65) and younger age groups (< 65). More elderly people are having spinal surgery. Few studies have examined the temporal nature of complications of cervical spine surgery by patient age groups. METHODS: Adverse events were collected prospectively using adverse event forms. Binary logistic regression analysis was utilized to assess associations between risk modifiers and adverse events at the intra-, peri-operative and 3 months post-surgery. RESULTS: Of the 761 patients studied (age < 65, n = 581 (76.3%) and 65 + n = 180 (23.7%), the intra-op adverse events were not significantly different; < 65 = 19 (3.3%) vs 65 + = 11 (6.1%), p < 0.087. Peri-operatively, the < 65 group had significantly lower percentage of adverse events (65yrs (11.2%) vs. 65 + = (26.1%), p < 0.001). There were no differences in rates of adverse events at 3 months post-surgery (< 65 = 39 (6.7%) vs. 65 + = 12 (6.7%), p < 0.983). Less blood loss (OR = 0.99, p < 0.010) and shorter length of hospital stay (OR = 0.97, p < 0.025) were associated with not having intra-op adverse events. Peri-operatively, > 1 operated level (OR = 1.77, p < 0.041), shorter length of hospital stay (OR = 0.86, p < 0.001) and being younger than 65 years (OR = 2.11, p < 0.006) were associated with not having adverse events. CONCLUSION: Following degenerative cervical spine surgery, the older and younger age groups had significantly different complication rates at peri-operative time points, and the intra-operative and 3-month post-operative complication rates were similar in the groups.

Introducing the New Patient Expectations in Spine Oncology Questionnaire.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It has been hypothesized that a discrepancy between pretreatment expectations and perceived outcomes is a significant source of patient dissatisfaction. Currently, there is lack in understanding and tools to assess patient expectations regarding the outcomes of treatment for spinal metastases. The objective of this study was therefore to develop a patient expectations questionnaire regarding the outcomes after surgery and/or radiotherapy for spinal metastases. METHODS: A multiphase international qualitative study was conducted. Phase 1 of the study included semistructured interviews with patients and relatives to understand their expectations of the outcomes of treatment. In addition, physicians were interviewed about their communication practices with patients regarding treatment and expected outcomes. In phase 2, items were developed based on the results of the interviews in phase 1. In phase 3, patients were interviewed to validate the content and language of the questionnaire. Selection of the final items was based on feedback from patients regarding content, language, and relevance. RESULTS: In phase 1, 24 patients and 22 physicians were included. A total of 34 items were developed for the preliminary questionnaire. After phase 3, a total of 22 items were retained for the final version of the questionnaire. The questionnaire is divided into 3 sections: (1) patient expectations regarding treatment outcomes, (2) prognosis, and (3) consultation with the physician. The items cover expectations related to pain, analgesia requirements, daily and physical function, overall quality of life, life expectancy, and information provided by the physician. CONCLUSION: The new Patient Expectations in Spine Oncology questionnaire was developed to evaluate patient expectations regarding the outcomes after treatment for spinal metastases. The Patient Expectations in Spine Oncology questionnaire will allow physicians to systematically assess patient expectations of planned treatment and thus help guide patients toward realistic expectations of treatment outcome.

Degenerative spinal conditions requiring emergency surgery: an evolving crisis in a publicly funded health care system.

BACKGROUND: Surgery for degenerative spine pathologies is typically performed on a scheduled basis; however, worsening symptoms may warrant emergency surgery. An increasing number of patients requiring emergency surgery has been observed (22.6% in 2006 to 34.8% in 2019). We sought to compare the outcomes of patients who received scheduled surgery and those who required emergency surgery. METHODS: All patients treated between Jan. 1, 2006, and Dec. 31, 2019, were included. Retrospective comparisons were made between patients who were scheduled (elective) for surgery and those requiring emergency surgery, patients who were scheduled for surgery and those who decompensated while on the surgical waitlist and patients who presented as de novo emergencies and those who decompensated while on the surgical waitlist. RESULTS: Among the 6217 patients with degenerative pathologies, 4654 (74.9%) patients were scheduled (elective) for surgery and 1563 (25.1%) were patients requiring emergency surgery. Compared with patients who were scheduled, patients requiring emergency surgery had a longer length of stay (LOS) in hospital (5.1 d, interquartile range [IQR] 2.7-11.2 v. 3.6 d, IQR 1.3-6.4, p < 0.001) and lower rate of home discharge (78.6% v. 94.2%, p < 0.001). Patients requiring emergency surgery were 1.34 times more likely to have any adverse events (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06-1.68, p = 0.01). When compared with patients who were scheduled for surgery, those who decompensated while on the surgical waitlist had longer LOS (7.0 d, IQR 3.3-15.0 v. 3.6 d, IQR 1.3-6.4, p < 0.001), less home discharge (77.6% v. 94.2%, p < 0.001) and were 2.5 times more likely to have any adverse events (95% CI 1.5-4.1, p < 0.001). Patients who decompensated had a 2.1 times higher risk of having any adverse events than patients who presented as de novo emergencies (95% CI 1.2-3.6, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: We observed worse perioperative outcomes for patients requiring emergency surgery for degenerative spinal conditions than for patients who were scheduled for surgery. Patients who decompensated while on the surgical waitlist had the worst outcomes.

Generic versus disease-specific adverse event reporting: a comparison of the NSQIP and SAVES databases for the identification of acute care adverse events in adult spine surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The accurate identification and reporting of adverse events (AEs) is crucial for quality improvement. A myriad of AE systems are utilized. There is a lack of understanding of the differences between prospective versus retrospective, disease-specific versus generic, and point-of-care versus chart-abstracted systems. The objective of this study was to compare the benefits and limitations between the prospective, disease-specific, point-of-care Spine Adverse Events Severity System (SAVES) and the retrospective, generic, and chart-abstracted National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) for the identification and reporting of AEs in adult patients undergoing spinal surgery. METHODS: The authors conducted an observational ambidirectional cohort study of adult patients undergoing spine surgery other than for trauma between 2011 and 2019 in a quaternary spine center. Patients were identified using Current Procedural Terminology codes in the NSQIP database and matched using unique medical record numbers to their corresponding record in SAVES. The incidence of AEs and per-patient AEs as recorded in NSQIP and SAVES was the primary outcome of interest. Comparable AEs were identified by matching NSQIP AEs to equivalent ones in SAVES. Chi-square tests were used to test for significant differences in the incidence of overall and comparable AEs between the databases. RESULTS: There were 2198 patients identified in NSQIP, of whom 2033 also had complete records in SAVES. SAVES identified 5342 individual AEs in 1484 patients (73%) compared with 1291 individual AEs in 807 patients (39.7%) with the NSQIP database (p < 0.001). SAVES identified 250 intraoperative and 422 postoperative spine-specific AEs that NSQIP did not record. NSQIP captured a greater number of AEs beyond 30 days, including prolonged length of stay > 30 days, unplanned readmission, unplanned reoperation, and death later than 30 days after surgery compared with SAVES. CONCLUSIONS: SAVES captures a greater incidence of peri- and intraoperative spine-specific AEs than NSQIP, while NSQIP identifies a greater number of AEs beyond 30 days. While a prospective, disease-specific, point-of-care AE system such as SAVES is specific for guiding quality improvement in spine surgery, it incurs greater time and financial costs. Conversely, a retrospective, generic, and chart-abstracted system such as NSQIP provides equivocal cross-institutional comparability with reduced time and financial costs. Specific contextual and aim-specific needs should guide the choice and implementation of an AE system.

The Role of Frailty and Sarcopenia in Predicting Major Adverse Events, Length of Stay and Reoperation Following En Bloc Resection of Primary Tumours of the Spine.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective observational cohort study. OBJECTIVE: En bloc resection for primary tumours of the spine is associated with a high rate of adverse events (AEs). The objective was to explore the relationship between frailty/sarcopenia and major perioperative AEs, length of stay (LOS), and unplanned reoperation following en bloc resection of primary spinal tumours. METHODS: This is a unicentre study consisting of adult patients undergoing en bloc resection for a primary spine tumor. Frailty was calculated with the modified frailty index (mFI) and spine tumour frailty index (STFI). Sarcopenia was quantified with the total psoas area/vertebral body area ratio (TPA/VB) at L3 and L4. Univariable regression analysis was used to quantify the association between frailty/sarcopenia and major perioperative AEs, LOS and unplanned reoperation. RESULTS: 95 patients met the inclusion criteria. The mFI and STFI identified a frailty prevalence of 3% and 18%. Mean CT TPA/VB ratios were 1.47 (SD ± .05) and 1.83 (SD ± .06) at L3 and L4. Inter-observer reliability was .93 and .99 for CT and MRI L3 and L4 TPA/VB ratios. Unadjusted analysis demonstrated sarcopenia and mFI did not predict perioperative AEs, LOS or unplanned reoperation. Frailty defined by an STFI score ≥2 predicted unplanned reoperation for surgical site infection (SSI) (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The STFI was only associated with unplanned reoperation for SSI on unadjusted analysis, while the mFI and sarcopenia were not predictive of any outcome. Further studies are needed to investigate the relationship between frailty, sarcopenia and perioperative outcomes following en bloc resection of primary spinal tumors.

Does Ending a Posterior Construct Proximally at C2 Versus C3 Impact Patient Reported Outcomes in Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy Patients up to 24 months After the Surgery?

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to evaluate the impact of the upper instrumented level (UIV) being at C2 vs C3 in posterior cervical construct on patient reported outcomes (PROs) up to 24 months after surgery for cervical degenerative myelopathy (DCM). Secondary objectives were to compare operative time, intra-operative blood loss (IOBL), length of stay (LOS), adverse events (AEs) and re-operation. METHODOLOGY: Patients who underwent a posterior cervical instrumented fusion (3 and + levels) with a C2 or C3 UIV, with 24 months follow-up were analyzed. PROs (NDI, EQ5D, SF-12 PCS/MCS, NRS arm/neck pain) were compared using ANCOVA. Operative duration, IOBL, AEs, and re-operation were compared. Subgroup analysis was performed on patient presenting with pre-operative malalignment (cervical sagittal vertical axis ≥40 mm and/or T1slope- cervical lordosis >15°). RESULTS: 173 patients were included, of which 41 (24%) had a C2 UIV and 132 (76%) a C3 UIV. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups for the changes in PROs up to 24 months. Subgroup analysis of patients with pre-operative malalignment showed a trend towards greater improvement in the NDI at 12 months with a C2 UIV (P = .054). Operative time, IOBL and peri-operative AEs were more in C2 group (P < .05). There was no significant difference in LOS and re-operation (P > .05). CONCLUSION: In this observational study, up to 24 months after surgery for posterior cervical fusion in DCM greater than 3 levels, PROs appear to evolve similarly.