Management of spinal dural arteriovenous fistula in a child with myelopathy.

BACKGROUND: Spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVF) are rare intradural spinal lesions. Patients with DAVF are typically in the 40's or 50's, and classically present with acute neurological deterioration. Notably, these lesions are exceedingly rare in the pediatric age group. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 2-year-old child presented with the sudden onset of lethargy, and 4/5 weakness of the left lower extremity with accompanying ataxia. The cervicothoracic MR scan revealed central cord edema from C5 to T4. A DAVF was diagnosed based on the multiple dilated intradural perimedullary veins. Following endovascular treatment, the child markedly recovered and remained stable 2 years later. CONCLUSION: DAVFs are treatable lesions that rarely occur in the pediatric age group. They are associated with serious neurological morbidity. When suspected, they should be immediately diagnosed with magnetic resonance imaging/magnetic resonance angiography, and formal angiography. Prompt neurosurgical and neuroradiological/ endovascular opinions and intervention should be sought to provide and the best treatment strategy.

Three-Dimensional Patient-Specific Guides for Intraoperative Navigation for Cortical Screw Trajectory Pedicle Fixation.

BACKGROUND: Cortical bone trajectory (CBT) technique for pedicle fixation has been proposed and adopted in recent years. This technique involves a mediolateral direction and a caudocephalad path to maximize screw purchase in cortical bone. Various techniques have been proposed to increase the accuracy of screw placement. A novel technique for CBT screw placement using a three-dimensional printed patient-specific drill guide (PSDG) is presented. METHODS: CBT screw fixation combined with posterior lumbar interbody fusion was performed for reduction of an L4-5 spondylolisthesis in a 71-year-old woman. PSDGs (MySpine MC Guides) were designed and printed based on the patient's preoperative computed tomography scan. PSDGs were used intraoperatively to facilitate screw trajectory and placement. RESULTS: Postoperative imaging performed at 6 weeks and 3 months revealed accurate screw trajectory with excellent reduction of spondylolisthesis. The patient improved clinically with minimal mechanical pain and claudication at 3-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: PSDG for CBT screw fixation offers significant benefits, including preoperative planning; improved screw placement accuracy while minimizing cortical breach; reduction of operative time; and lower cost compared with intraoperative computed tomography-based neuronavigation, thus expanding the availability of this technique. Drawbacks include time required for PSDG planning and learning curve for surgeons.

The use of demineralised bone fibres (DBF) in conjunction with supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2) treated allograft in anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF).

Spinal fusion is a common procedure for the treatment of various spinal pathologies. Since the early days, spinal fusion has been carried out with the use of bone grafts as interbody spacers. With the development of synthetic interbody implants, bone grafts were used to facilitate fusion. Although autograft provides the best outcomes for fusion, allografts have been sought after due to donor site morbidity and other shortcomings. Currently, a vast variety of demineralised bone matrix (DBM) products are available with their methods of processing and preparation impacting their properties and clinical outcomes. Demineralised bone fibres (DBF), a form a DBM can be easily packed into implants when mixed with other substances such as allograft bone and patient's blood providing a scaffold for the mixture. We report two cases of anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) utilising a titanium-polyetheretherketone (PEEK) interbody cage filled with DBF, allograft and patient's blood with a maximum of 12 months follow-up outcome.

Assessing workplace discrimination among medical practitioners in Western Sydney.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the presence of different forms of experiences of discrimination in the medical workplace. METHODS: A total of 526 questionnaires were sent out, including a demographic survey form and the Everyday Discrimination Scale. RESULTS: Experiences of being "treated with less courtesy than other people are" and feeling as "others acted if they're better than [me]" were reported as having occurred with almost daily frequency by 4.1 % of respondents. Those whose main language was not English and classified as "non-whites" had significantly more experiences ("ever") of discrimination in the medical workplace. The most commonly reported reasons for discrimination were ancestry (31.3%), "race" (28.1%), and gender (21.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this survey indicate that a proportion of doctors experience discrimination in the workplace in Australia. This phenomenon was more commonly reported by doctors of minority status.

Australian general practitioners' perspectives on their role in well-child health care.

BACKGROUND: In a General Practitioner (GP) setting, preventative medicine is reported as the predominant source of health care for the well-child. However, the role of the GP in well-child health care is not well understood in Australia. The aim of this study was to describe the role of the GP in providing services for well-children and families in Australia. METHODS: This was a qualitative descriptive study. Face-to-face interviews were held with 23 GPs to identify their role in the provision of well-child health care. Participants worked in a variety of general practice settings and 21 of the 23 GPs worked in the Greater Western Sydney area. RESULTS: Five main themes were identified in the analysis: 'prevention is better than cure', 'health promotion: the key messages', 'working with families', 'working with other health professionals', and 'barriers to the delivery of well-child health services'. CONCLUSIONS: Participating GPs had a predominantly preventative focus, but in the main well-child care was opportunistic rather than proactive. The capacity to take a primary preventative approach to the health of children and families by GPs is limited by the increasing demands to manage chronic disease. Serious consideration should be given to developing collaborative models of care where GPs are joined up with services funded by State and Territory governments in Australia, such as the universal maternal child and family health nursing services that have well children and families as their prime focus.