Antigenic cartography using hamster sera identifies SARS-CoV-2 JN.1 evasion seen in human XBB.1.5 booster sera.

Antigenic assessments of SARS-CoV-2 variants inform decisions to update COVID-19 vaccines. Primary infection sera are often used for assessments, but such sera are rare due to population immunity from SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19 vaccinations. Here, we show that neutralization titers and breadth of matched human and hamster pre-Omicron variant primary infection sera correlate well and generate similar antigenic maps. The hamster antigenic map shows modest antigenic drift among XBB sub-lineage variants, with JN.1 and BA.4/BA.5 variants within the XBB cluster, but with five to six-fold antigenic differences between these variants and XBB.1.5. Compared to sera following only ancestral or bivalent COVID-19 vaccinations, or with post-vaccination infections, XBB.1.5 booster sera had the broadest neutralization against XBB sub-lineage variants, although a five-fold titer difference was still observed between JN.1 and XBB.1.5 variants. These findings suggest that antibody coverage of antigenically divergent JN.1 could be improved with a matched vaccine antigen.

Early-term outcome of apical fusion with vertebral body tethering for thoracolumbar curves in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a preliminary study.

INTRODUCTION: Vertebral body tethering (VBT) has become an alternative option for select patients with idiopathic scoliosis. However, studies have shown a high number of tether breakages, specifically after thoracolumbar (TL) VBT, that can have a negative impact on the outcome, when the breakage occurs within the first year after surgery. In order to overcome this problem, we have started to apply an apical fusion (AF) in combination with TL VBT for select patients. This study aims to analyze the outcome after AF plus VBT. METHODS: This is a retrospective single surgeon's data analysis. All patients were included who have had TL VBT after January 2022 and a follow-up of 12 months. Patients were grouped based on whether they only had VBT or VBT + AF. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients were analyzed (15 VBT, 10 VBT + AF). Both groups showed a significant curve correction for thoracic and TL curves. Minor loss of correction was observed in both groups. A significant difference was seen regarding early tether breakages, which were found in 60% of VBT patients and 10% of VBT + AF patients. CONCLUSION: The preliminary data shows a significant reduction of early tether breakages when TL VBT is applied in combination with AF.

Bivalent Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine Antibody Responses to Omicron Variants Suggest That Responses to Divergent Variants Would Be Improved With Matched Vaccine Antigens.

We compared neutralizing antibody responses to BA.4/5, BQ.1.1, XBB, and XBB.1.5 Omicron severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 variants after a bivalent or ancestral coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) messenger RNA booster vaccine or postvaccination infection. We found that the bivalent booster elicited moderately high antibody titers against BA.4/5 that were approximately 2-fold higher against all Omicron variants than titers elicited by the monovalent booster. The bivalent booster elicited low but similar titers against both XBB and XBB.1.5 variants. These findings inform risk assessments for future COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and suggest that updated COVID-19 vaccines containing matched vaccine antigens to circulating divergent variants may be needed.

Radiographic outcome after vertebral body tethering of the lumbar spine.

INTRODUCTION: Multiple studies have analyzed the outcome after thoracic Vertebral Body Tethering (VBT). The results seem reproducible with most studies reporting coronal correction rates around 50% and a tether breakage rate near 20% at two years follow-up. There is a paucity of data on lumbar VBT, and no study has yet analyzed the radiographic outcome after lumbar VBT in a double tether technique at two years follow-up, which was the aim of this study. METHODS: This is a retrospective, single surgeons' data analysis of all consecutive immature patients who have had VBT of the lumbar spine (to L3 or L4) between January 2019 and September 2020. Primary interest focused on coronal curve correction at two years post-operatively. Suspected tether breakages were analyzed separately and defined as an angular change of more than 5° between two adjacent screws. RESULTS: Forty-one patients were eligible for this study and 35 (85%) had complete two-year follow-up data. Average age at surgery was 14.3 years. All patients had a Sanders stage of 7 or below. Average curve correction for thoracolumbar/lumbar curves at two years follow-up was 50%. 90% of patients had at least one level with a suspected tether breakage. No patient required a revision surgery within two years from surgery but two patients were surgically revised after two years. CONCLUSION: VBT in the lumbar spine resulted in 50% coronal curve correction two years post-operatively despite a tether breakage in 90% of patients.

The use of electronic conductivity devices can effectively reduce radiation exposure in vertebral body tethering.

INTRODUCTION: Vertebral body tethering (VBT) presents new challenges in respect to radiation exposure, as screws cannot be placed free-hand and the lateral positioning of the patients increases scattered radiation. To reduce radiation exposure, we introduced the use of electronic conductivity device (ECD). These are drilling probes send an audio signal when cortical bone is breached. Thus, anterior, bicortical screws can be placed without multiple fluoroscopic controls. ECD has been used for all VBT procedures at our institution starting April 2020. The aim of this study was to test the safety of ECD and its efficacy in radiation reduction in comparison with the current standard, the fluoroscopic guidance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients who underwent VBT between August 2019 and December 2020 were retrospectively reviewed and divided into two groups according to whether ECD had been used or not. The radiation exposure per procedure and per screw was compared among the two groups, overall and separately for thoracic, lumbar and bilateral procedures. The rate of misplaced screws was calculated. RESULTS: Data from 62 patients and 825 screws were obtained (397 with ECD). No screw misplacement was observed. Radiation reduction with ECD reached up to 41%. A significant reduction was observed in the radiation per procedure in bilateral instrumentation (from 9.16 to 5.52 mGy*m2), and in the analysis per screw overall (from 9.16 to 5.52 mGy*m2) and for lumbar curves (from 0.54 to 0.32 mGy*m2). CONCLUSION: ECD can safely and effectively reduce the radiation exposure for VBT procedures.

Difference between radiographically suspected and intraoperatively confirmed tether breakages after vertebral body tethering for idiopathic scoliosis.

PURPOSE: Vertebral body tethering (VBT) has shown promising results but also a high tether breakage rate, which has been reported in up to 48% of patients. Tether breakages can lead to loss of correction, and the most used definition for tether breakage is a loss of segmental correction of > 5°. However, there may also be some breakages that do not have a negative influence on curve correction. Analyzing the real breakage rate was the aim of this study. METHODS: All patients who underwent anterior revision surgery after VBT were included in this retrospective study. Real (intraoperatively confirmed) tether breakages were compared to preoperatively suspected tether breakages. The definition for a suspected tether breakage was an angular change of more than 5° between an early and the latest radiograph. RESULTS: Ten patients who received 11 revision surgeries with a total of 15 revised curves were analyzed. Of the 80 analyzed segments, 36 were found to have a breakage. Of these 36 segments, 20 were suspected to be broken preoperatively. Sixteen breakages were not identified on preoperative radiographs (44%). One suspected broken tether was intraoperatively found to be intact. CONCLUSION: By using the > 5° rule, only 56% of the tether breakages could be diagnosed. On the other hand, many tether breakages will not result in a loss of correction.

Radiographic Results after Vertebral Body Tethering. / Radiologische Ergebnisse nach Vertebral Body Tethering.

Vertebral body tethering (VBT), otherwise known as fusion-less anterior scoliosis correction (ASC), is a new and increasingly interesting therapeutic option for selected scoliosis patients. The available data on this surgical technique are still limited and guidelines on patient selection or surgical timing are not available. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the available literature on VBT. The analysis was performed in accordance with the PRISMA Statement. Nine studies with data from 175 patients were available. On average, 7.3 vertebrae were instrumented. Surgical time was 230 min and the estimated blood loss 153 ml. The mean correction on the coronal plane was 52%, and there was no significant change in sagittal parameters. The revision rate was 18.9%. The methodological quality assessment with the Coleman score gave unsatisfactory results, so that available data are not sufficient to propose general indications or guidelines to perform VBT.

Motion preservation surgery for scoliosis with a vertebral body tethering system: a biomechanical study.

PURPOSE: There is a paucity of studies on new vertebral body tethering (VBT) surgical constructs especially regarding their potentially motion-preserving ability. This study analyses their effects on the ROM of the spine. METHODS: Human spines (T10-L3) were tested under pure moment in four different conditions: (1) native, (2) instrumented with one tether continuously connected in all vertebrae from T10 to L3, (3) additional instrumented with a second tether continuously connected in all vertebrae from T11 to L3, and (4) instrumented with one tether and one titanium rod (hybrid) attached to T12, L1 and L2. The instrumentation was inserted in the left lateral side. The intersegmental ROM was evaluated using a magnetic tracking system, and the medians were analysed. Please check and confirm the author names and initials are correct. Also, kindly confirm the details in the metadata are correct. The mentioned information is correct RESULTS: Compared to the native spine, the instrumented spine presented a reduction of less than 13% in global ROM considering flexion-extension and axial rotation. For left lateral bending, the median global ROM of the native spine (100%) significantly reduced to 74.6%, 66.4%, and 68.1% after testing one tether, two tethers and the hybrid construction, respectively. In these cases, the L1-L2 ROM was reduced to 68.3%, 58.5%, and 38.3%, respectively. In right lateral bending, the normalized global ROM of the spine with one tether, two tethers and the hybrid construction was 58.9%, 54.0%, and 56.6%, respectively. Considering the same order, the normalized L1-L2 ROM was 64.3%, 49.9%, and 35.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The investigated VBT techniques preserved global ROM of the spine in flexion-extension and axial rotation while reduced the ROM in lateral bending.

Return to sport and daily life activities after vertebral body tethering for AIS: analysis of the sport activity questionnaire.

PURPOSE: Vertebral body tethering (VBT) is an alternative to fusion for selected scoliosis patients. As VBT does not limit spine mobility, it has been propagated that this technique allows a quicker return to physical activity than fusion. However, no data are available to support this statement. Aim of this study was to quantify how much time patients required to resume preoperative activity level and to seek possible associations between return to physical activity and demographic, radiographic and surgical data. METHODS: One year postoperatively, the validated sport activity questionnaire (SAQ) was administered to all skeletally immature patients who underwent VBT at our institution. SAQ data were analyzed and a multivariate analysis was conducted to investigate associations between SAQ and demographic, radiographic and surgical data. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients aged 14.5 years completed the SAQ. Within 3 months from VBT, 97% returned to school, 61% resumed physical education, 97% carried a backpack, 68% run, and 82% rode a bike; 70% bent within a month from VBT. Ninety-four percent of patients returned to their preoperative athletic level. Within 3 months, 63% of responders resumed noncontact, 61% contact and 53% collision sports. No relevant associations were observed between the SAQ and demographic, radiographic and surgical data. In particular, number of instrumented vertebrae, level of the lowest instrumented vertebra and postoperative Cobb angle did not influence patients' return to preoperative activities. CONCLUSION: VBT allows patients to quickly return to their preoperative activity level, irrespectively of the postoperative Cobb angle or type of instrumentation.

Range of Motion of the Upper Extremity in a Healthy Pediatric Population: Introduction to Normative Data.

Objective In the pediatric population traumatic injuries of the upper extremity are common. After therapy a decision has to be made if the mobility of the joint lies within a normal range. The purpose of this study was to give an introduction to normative data. We investigate if there is a significant difference in the range of motion (ROM) between male and female probands and furthermore, if an effect of the age can be detected. Methods We performed an institutional review board-approved study of healthy girls and boys aged between 2 and 16 years without any medical history of an upper extremity fracture. We investigated the active ROM of the elbow, wrist, metacarpophalangeal, and interphalangeal joints. Furthermore, age, handedness, weight, and height were recorded. A total of 171 adolescents with a mean age of 10.6 years were included and separated into four cohorts by age: 2 to 5, 6 to 10, 11 to 13, and 14 to 16 years. Results We found significant differences between the genders in the age group from 11 to 13 years for the flexion of the elbow, the pronation, the flexion of the interphalangeal joint of the thumb, as well as the flexion of the metacarpophalangeal joints of digitus II to V. Furthermore, a significant difference in the same joints except from the elbow flexion could be demonstrated between the genders. Conclusion Our study contributes normative data for upper extremity ROM in the pediatric population and presents a gender-related difference in certain joints. Clinical Relevance Normative data for the ROM of upper extremity joints in children is helpful for the evaluation of pediatric orthopedic patients and provides the framework for therapeutic resolution. Since a great number of traumatic injuries in children affect the upper extremity, this information may help the physician to estimate the impact of the injury and decide on the therapeutic management.