Reliability and reproducibility analysis of the AOSpine Sacral Fractures Classification System by spinal and pelvic surgeons.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective Cohort Study OBJECTIVES: The AOSpine Sacral Classification System was proposed as a comprehensive and universally accepted new classification for Sacral Fractures, and was recently internally validated. However, an external, independent and multidisciplinary reports on validation of this classification is lacking. Aim of the present study is to analyze the interobserver reliability and intraobserver reproducibility of the AOSpine Sacral Classification System for Sacral Fractures between orthopedic spinal and pelvic surgeons with different levels of experience. METHODS: Our institutional database was searched to retrieve patients with acute, traumatic sacral injury admitted from June 2017 to June 2020. For each patients, X-Rays and CT scans were collected. Three Orthopedic Pelvic Surgeons (Group A) and three Spine Surgeons (Group B), with different level of experience (Junior, 〈 5 years; Middle, 5-10 years; Expert 〉 10 years) independently classified all the sacral fractures included in the dataset, with two separate evaluation three weeks apart. Both intra and interobserver reliability were calculated with k-coefficient. RESULTS: Overall, 150 patients were included in the final dataset, for a total of 1800 different assessments, with all the subtypes reported. The intraobserver reproducibility for the whole group was substantial (κ=0.72). Overall, the interobserver reliability was moderate, with a κ=0.57. When only fracture type was taken in account, the κ value became substantial (κ=0.62). No significant differences were found comparing group A and group B (0.55 vs κ 0.55, p>0.05). No significant differences according to surgeon's experience were found; however, the κ value was slightly lower among the junior surgeons. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirmed the reliability and reproducibility of this classification in clinical practice. In the current study the surgeon's expertise (pelvic and spinal trauma) and the level of experience does not influence the reliability of the classification system.

Italian neuropsychological instruments to assess memory, attention and frontal functions for developmental age.

In this study, a series of tests exploring long-term verbal memory (the Short Story Test), attention (a modified version of Attentional Matrices and the Trail Making Test) and frontal functions (a modified version of the Frontal Assessment Battery) have been standardised on an Italian population of 283 children aged 5-14. Raw scores for each test have been adjusted for a series of variables (child's age, years of parents' education, handedness, gender) and transformed in equivalent scores enabling direct comparison across measures. This study was promoted by LICE (the Italian League Against Epilepsy) in order to provide Italian instruments standardised on the developmental age population and to study some of the most frequently impaired cognitive functions in epilepsy.

Preserved functional competence of perilesional areas in drug-resistant epilepsy with lesion in supplementary motor cortex: fMRI and neuropsychological observations.

We report a presurgical fMRI study and a longitudinal behavioral and structural MRI study in a 26-year-old right-handed woman with drug-resistant epilepsy of the supplementary motor region with cytoarchitectural dysplasia and minimal cortico-subcortical gliotic damage. fMRI scans were acquired during a silent phonemic verbal fluency task (VF), an automatic counting task (CT), and a finger-tapping motor task (MT). These were all compared with rest. Presurgical neuropsychological assessment was substantially normal with only a minor deficit in the domain of visuo-constructive and complex motor-planning skills. Noticeably, performance on phonemic verbal fluency was normal. Presurgical fMRI results revealed a normal specialization of left SMA and pre-SMA, including a fine-grained somatotopy for mouth and hand representations despite epilepsy. Immediately after surgical removal of the epileptogenic zone (the posterior third of the superior and middle frontal gyri including pre-SMA and part of SMA, and part of the anterior cingulate region--all of which were active presurgically at the fMRI tests), the patient suffered from transcortical motor aphasia temporarily. One year after surgery, she still showed impaired performance in the verbal fluency tasks while naming and comprehension were recovered. The patient was now free from seizures. This fMRI study supports the case that repeated seizures per se may not be sufficient to alter the distribution of neural representations of cognitive function. Selective behavioral impairment after surgical removal of brain areas that were activated during presurgical fMRI permits us to establish a causal link between these activations and task performance. This link could not have been made on the basis of activation patterns or lesion data taken on their own. These findings support the case that some epileptic patients may represent a unique opportunity for cognitive neuroscience studies.

[Multifocal carcinoid of the stomach]. / Il carcinoide multifocale dello stomaco.

Carcinoid tumors are among the most frequently reported neuroendocrine neoplasms of the gastroenteropancreatic system. They occur more commonly as benign diseases but malignant ones can also be found. Gastric carcinoid is an uncommon pathology which accusin 2% of the carcinoid tumors of various districts and 0.5% of the gastric carcinomas. The authors report a case of gastric malignant multifocal carcinoid, diagnosed in a 63 year-old female patient. Diagnosis was confirmed at histologic analysis of the operating piece. The aim of this paper has been to review the frequency, prognosis and treatment of this neoplasm in the literature.

[Cognitive evaluation of patients with temporal epilepsy, candidates for surgery]. / Valutazione cognitiva dei pazienti con epilessia temporale candidati ad intervento chirurgico.

We provide a short overview on selected aspects of the neuropsychology of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy candidate to surgery. The possible impairment of verbal and non verbal memory is treated in particular. We also present the neuropsychological test battery that we use for the cognitive assessment of such patients before surgery and in the follow-up phase.

[Diagnostic findings and the surgical treatment of liver metastases: our experience]. / Orientamenti diagnostici e trattamento chirurgico delle metastasi epatiche: nostra esperienza.

The authors report their 10 year experience of 32 consecutive hepatic resections for metastases. All patients were preoperatively evaluated with US and CT, however, in 9 cases the diagnosis was obtained at laparotomy. In the first years there were no codified criteria for indications to surgery, while recently these were restricted, because of more favourable prognostic evaluations, to the metastases from colorectal carcinoma, endocrine or carcinoid tumours, digestive system neoplasms invading adjacent liver (in this case usually with palliative goal). The low mortality and morbidity registered explain the safety and efficacy of this procedure, also taking into account the fact that currently surgery is the only effective procedure with curative purpose. Criteria for patients selection, particularly in case of colorectal cancer, are referred and discussed and consequently prognostic factors are proposed: hepatic involvement extent, stage of primary tumour, absence of extrahepatic metastases, disease free interval between resection of primary tumour and hepatic resection for metachronous metastases.

[Surgical treatment of major obesity by biliopancreatic bypass: our experience]. / La thérapie chirurgicale de la grande obésité par by-pass biblio-pancréatique: notre expérience.

The Authors report their experience in the surgical management of morbid obesity. The efficacy of the bilio-pancreatic by-pass, method created by Nicola Scopinaro in the 1976, is underlined. From November 1988, 41 patients affected by morbid obesity were treated with this method. Results obtained are comparable to those reported in literature, with important weight loss and decrease of the cardiovascular risk-factors.

[Comparison of the diagnostic efficacy of various in vitro tests for the study of thyroid performance (author's transl)]. / Valutazione comparativa della efficacia diagnostica di alcuni test in vitro per lo studio della funzionalità tiroidea

Discriminating analysis was employed in an evaluation of the diagnostic efficacy of individual in vitro tests of thyroid performance (T3 resin uptake, T4, FTI, ETR) and PB131I determination, and their combinations, when used for the differentiation of euthyroid, Basedow hyperthyroid, hyperfunctioning autonomous adenoma, and hypothyroid cases. The results are discussed with reference to optimization of the data: radiation dose ratio.