Early mobilisation of thoracolumbar burst fractures without neurology: a natural history observation.

AIMS: The authors present the results of a cohort study of 60 adult patients presenting sequentially over a period of 15 years from 1997 to 2012 to our hospital for treatment of thoracic and/or lumbar vertebral burst fractures, but without neurological deficit. METHOD: All patients were treated by early mobilisation within the limits of pain, early bracing for patient confidence and all progress in mobilisation was recorded on video. Initial hospital stay was one week. Subsequent reviews were made on an outpatient basis. RESULTS: The mean duration from admission to final follow-up was three months, and longer follow-up was undertaken telephonically. The mean kyphosis deformity on arrival was 17.4° (5° to 29°); mean kyphosis at final discharge three months later was 19.5° (1° to 28°). Spinal canal encroachment had no influence on successful functional recovery. DISCUSSION: Pain has not been a significant problem for any patient, irrespective of the degree of kyphosis and no patient has a self-perception of clinical deformity. In all, 11 patients took occasional analgesia. All patients returned to their original work level or better. Two patients died 2.5 years after treatment, from unrelated causes. TAKE HOME MESSAGE: The natural history of thoracolumbar burst fractures without neurology would appear to be benign.

The Oswestry Risk Index: an aid in the treatment of metastatic disease of the spine.

The revised Tokuhashi, Tomita and modified Bauer scores are commonly used to make difficult decisions in the management of patients presenting with spinal metastases. A prospective cohort study of 199 consecutive patients presenting with spinal metastases, treated with either surgery and/or radiotherapy, was used to compare the three systems. Cox regression, Nagelkerke's R(2) and Harrell's concordance were used to compare the systems and find their best predictive items. The three systems were equally good in terms of overall prognostic performance. Their most predictive items were used to develop the Oswestry Spinal Risk Index (OSRI), which has a similar concordance, but a larger coefficient of determination than any of these three scores. A bootstrap procedure was used to internally validate this score and determine its prediction optimism. The OSRI is a simple summation of two elements: primary tumour pathology (PTP) and general condition (GC): OSRI = PTP + (2 - GC). This simple score can predict life expectancy accurately in patients presenting with spinal metastases. It will be helpful in making difficult clinical decisions without the delay of extensive investigations.

Destructive discovertebral degenerative disease of the lumbar spine.

The uncommon variant of degenerative hip joint disease, termed rapidly progressive osteoarthritis, and highlighted by severe joint space loss and osteochondral disintegration, is well established. We present a similar unusual subset in the lumbar spine termed destructive discovertebral degenerative disease (DDDD) with radiological features of vertebral malalignment, severe disc resorption, and "bone sand" formation secondary to vertebral fragmentation. Co-existing metabolic bone disease is likely to promote the development of DDDD of the lumbar spine, which presents with back pain and sciatica due to nerve root compression by the "bone sand" in the epidural space. MRI and CT play a complimentary role in making the diagnosis.

Results of Charleston bracing in skeletally immature patients with idiopathic scoliosis.

Previous studies have reported varying success rates with the use of the Charleston brace in idiopathic scoliosis. However, these studies have included patients from multiple centers, those with double curves, and those still undergoing treatment. This article presents the results of Charleston bracing in 42 skeletally immature patients (Risser 0/1) treated at one institution and followed up for a mean of 3.3 years after brace discontinuation. Selection criteria included a diagnosis of idiopathic scoliosis, Risser stage 0 or 1, at least 10 years of age at the time of bracing, female gender, a single curve between 25 degrees and 40 degrees, and no prior treatment. The average age at the time of bracing was 12.5 years (range 10-15) and the average curve was 30.3 degrees (range 25 degrees -40 degrees ). Outcome was considered a failure if the curve had increased more than 5 degrees at last follow-up, if surgical intervention was required, or if there was a change of orthosis during treatment (e.g., Charleston to Boston). In 25 of the 42 patients (60%), the brace was successful in preventing progression of the curve (mean follow-up 3.4 years; range 1.1-11.7). Thoracic curves had the same success as thoracolumbar and lumbar curves. Based on these results, the authors conclude that the Charleston brace is effective in preventing progression of curve. Proper patient selection is important.

Divergent dislocation of the elbow in a child (a case report).

A rare case of simultaneous disruption of superior radio-ulnar joint and posterior dislocation of the same elbow in a 6 year old boy is presented. It was possible to achieve the stable reduction by means of closed manipulation, restoring normal function in 6 weeks time. The possible mode of injury is discussed. There are only 4 cases reported of such a divergent elbow dislocation in modern literature.