Impact of COVID-19 on adolescent health and use of social media.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic changed access to healthcare and decreased mental and physical wellbeing. It also significantly altered teens' relationship with social media. This article is a current review of the literature on the impact of COVID-19 on adolescent health overall. In addition, how social media use has both improved and worsened the impact of COVID-19, along with strategies providers should consider in wanting to address social media use with teens. RECENT FINDINGS: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected adolescents through increased social isolation and decreased access to healthcare resources. Social media use has both positive and negative effects on adolescent health. Positive effects include sustained connection to friends, family and community while negative effects include lower self-esteem and increased incidence of eating disorders. SUMMARY: Our findings underscore the multifaceted impact of social media on adolescent mental health, physical wellbeing, and healthcare access. Of particular relevance to the physician is the potential of leveraging social media to promote healthy behaviors in vulnerable age groups and populations. Social media can be used to connect teens with reputable websites where they can seek medical or health information that would otherwise not readily be available.

Successful Treatment of Pediatric Holo-Spinal Epidural Abscess With Percutaneous Drainage.

Spinal epidural abscess (SEA) is a rare and potentially devastating neurologic disease that is commonly treated with neurosurgical decompression and evacuation. We describe the case of an 11-month-old immunocompetent infant who presented with a large multiloculated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus abscess in the left lung apex with likely mediastinal involvement, extending into the epidural space from C7 down to L2 causing cord compression which was successfully treated with percutaneous placement of an epidural drainage catheter and antibiotic therapy. Although there are rare reports of percutaneous drainage of SEAs, to our knowledge, there are no reports of successful use of percutaneous indwelling catheters resulting in the complete resolution of an SEA. Holo-spinal epidural abscess in an infant is an extremely rare disease with limited literature available regarding the best practice for its treatment. Multiple considerations must be taken into account when weighing the different treatment options ranging from surgical decompression to conservative management with antibiotic therapy. We present a unique case of successful treatment with percutaneous epidural drain placement. This provides a reasonable alternative for management in children for whom surgical decompression carries multiple risks for complications both acutely and delayed.

The Use of a Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) Cage Following Inadequate Access to the Disc Space During an Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion Procedure.

Non-specific lower back pain caused by degenerative lumbar disease, such as disc and facet joint degeneration or spondylolisthesis, significantly impairs quality of life of patients and is associated with higher pain scores and reduced function. Patients that fail to respond to conservative treatment may require surgical intervention, such as lumbar interbody fusion (LIF). Compared to other approaches, an anterior approach to lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) has advantages regarding efficacy of fusion, visualization of relevant anatomy, and a larger allowable size of the interbody fusion device. An anterior approach's main biomechanical advantage includes the ability to restore sagittal alignment, achieve indirect decompression, and provide increased anterior column support. Complications of anterior interbody fusion are mostly approach related and include vascular injury or visceral injury. However, the anterior anatomy can make the placement of an interbody device challenging. In the case reported here, an ALIF procedure was complicated by immobile iliac vessels leaving a small window to place the interbody cage. Continuing with the anterior approach was opted, but with the oblique placement of a cage traditionally used in transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) procedures.