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BACKGROUND: From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, reports in the literature confirm a significant increase in suicide attempts in children and adolescents. At the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital Emergency Department (Rome, Italy), there was a dramatic increase in suicidal jumpers. Many of these presented vertebral fractures. METHODS: This retrospective study includes all suicidal jumpers with vertebral fractures treated from April 2017 to March 2023. We collected and compared data from three years before to three years after the pandemic, analyzing vertebral fractures. RESULTS: From April 2019 to March 2020, 141 cases of suicide attempt arrived at the emergency department. Five of these were suicidal jumpers without vertebral fractures. From April 2020 to March 2023, 362 cases of suicide were hospitalized and 19 were suicidal jumpers; 12 reported vertebral fractures (mean age 14 years). Seven patients were treated by percutaneous pedicle fixation. Three patients needed an open spinal surgery by posterior approach. One case with cervical fractures was treated by Halo-Vest. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report that shows a sharp increase in vertebral body fractures due to suicide jumping attempts in children and adolescents. This could be a new epidemiological phenomenon persisting or even increasing over time in the pediatric population as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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BACKGROUND: Congenital kyphoscoliosis due to hemivertebra is generally treated surgically because of high risk of curve progression and high risk of nervous system complications. Modern posterior access surgical techniques, including total hemivertebra resection, can completely correct deformity without additional anterior access surgeries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate midterm results of hemivertebra resection and spinal arthrodesis; the hypothesis was that it is a safe, effective, and reproducible procedure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2006 to 2019, hemivertebra resection and instrumented spinal arthrodesis with pedicle screws was performed on 82 patients with congenital vertebral deformities (62 scoliosis and 20 kyphoscoliosis) by posterior approach. Mean age at surgery was 8.6 years, and 22 patients were under 10 years of age. After stabilization patients have been braced for a period from 3 to 5 months. RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 9.6 years (range 1.2-12.8 years); mean kyphosis curve after surgery was reduced to 20° Cobb; and mean scoliosis curve was reduced to 11° Cobb. We experienced no major complications (postsurgical infection, instrumentation failure, severe neurological impairment, severe blood loss) at latest follow-up . CONCLUSION: We strongly advocate one-time posterior hemivertebra resection and arthrodesis as the most suitable surgical procedure for congenital scoliosis due to hemivertebra. Posterior approach interventions with pedicle screws instrumentation are less invasive than combined anterior-posterior approach interventions. We think that posterior approach procedures can lead to excellent deformity correction in both frontal and sagittal views, optimal stability, and low risk of nervous injury. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Congenital scoliosis treatment is one of the most challeging conditions a spine surgeon has to face. We advocate that a one-stage posterior approach for hemivertebrectomy and fusion is a reliable, safe tachnique, whom excellent results remain stable at a mid/long-term follow-up. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 4.
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INTRODUCTION: Osteoblastomas are primary bone tumors, rarer than osteoid osteomas, and <10% of these lesions occurs in the spine. Aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) are rare, benign lesion of the bone and approximately 8-30% of ABCs arise in the spine, mostly in the thoracic and the lumbar regions. The association between them is quite rare in the general population. CASE REPORT: We report a case of a 14-year-old boy, soccer player, with an osteoblastoma of the left posterior neural arc of L2 and a secondary aneurismal bone cyst compressing the left L2 nerve root, causing severe antalgic scoliosis and back pain with radiculopathy. A complete surgical excision with radicular decompression has been performed, and the histologic examination confirmed the diagnostic hypothesis (osteoblastoma + ABC). At 6 months follow-up, the patient presented a complete resolution of symptoms, but the trunk imbalance was not completely resolved. CONCLUSION: Spine localization of osteoblastoma + ABC is rare and its diagnosis and treatment are often challenging. Complete surgical excision seems to be confirmed as the gold standard of treatment, but the option of instrumented arthrodesis should be carefully evaluated.