Validation of the arabic version of the EuroQol-5-dimension 5-level (EQ-5D-5 L) in patients with spinal degenerative diseases.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to test the reliability and validity of the translated Arabic version of EQ-5D-5 L. METHODS: The study was conducted on 100 patients operated upon for degenerative spine diseases coming for follow up in the outpatient clinic of a Tertiary care hospital. Test-retest reliability was assessed by completing the self-administered tool in two follow up visits, one week apart, by 50 patients. Internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbach's alpha. Intra-class correlation coefficients and kappa statistics were performed to test for the agreement between the two ratings. Criterion validity was assessed by comparing the responses of 100 patients to the EQ-5D-5 L with scores of two validated questionnaires; the Arabic version of the Oswestry disability index and the Arabic version of short-form health survey-36. The construct validity was assessed using known-groups comparison to test for hypothesized differences concerning demographic and clinical variables. RESULTS: The Arabic version of EQ-5D-5 L questionnaire had a high reliability with high observed internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.816, CI: 0.719-0.886). It showed strong temporal stability, with ICCs of the EQ-5D-5 L score, index and EQ-visual analog scale (EQ-VAS) of 0.852, 0.801, and 0.839 respectively. Agreement by kappa was moderate; above 0.4, for all domains, except for the "Usual activities" domain. EQ-5D-5 L domains, VAS and index had moderate to strong significant correlations with SF-36 and ODI subscales and total scores in the correct direction indicating a good criterion validity of the instrument. CONCLUSION: The Arabic version of EQ-5D-5 L is reliable and valid for assessment of HRQoL of Arabic speaking patients.

Radiofrequency ablation and balloon kyphoplasty for palliation of painful spinal metastases.

PURPOSE: This study was designed with an aim to assess the safety and early postoperative outcomes of the combined Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and Balloon Kyphoplasty (BKP) used for the treatment of painful neoplastic spinal lesions palliatively. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between December 2015 and December 2018, 60 patients (35 men and 25 women) with spinal metastases were operated using RFA and BKP at our institution. Transpedicular biopsy was performed in all cases. Patients' demographics, lesion characteristics, concurrent palliative therapies and complications were recorded. All patients were clinically (Pain score VAS 0-10) and radiologically evaluated pre- and postoperatively. Retrospective analysis of data for this cohort was performed. RESULTS: Seventy-five painful spinal metastases (46 in the lumbar spine and 29 in the thoracic region) in 60 patients were operated [transpedicular RFA alone in 5 lesions, and in combination with BKP in 70 lesions (93%)]. The mean pre-procedure and post-procedure VAS for back pain was 7.2/10 and 2.7/10, respectively (p value = 0.0001). No neurological complications related to RFA were found and no cement extravasation into the spinal canal was observed. In two patients, asymptomatic leaks into the needle track, in two patients into draining veins and in one patient into the disk space were detected. CONCLUSION: Combined RFA and BKP appears to be a safe, practical, effective and reproducible palliative treatment for painful spinal osteolytic metastasis. In carefully indicated cases, it relieves pain and maintains stability in a minimal invasive way without adding significant surgical trauma or complications.

Anterior instrumentation through posterior approach in neglected congenital kyphosis: a novel technique and case series.

PURPOSE: To present a novel technique for anterior instrumentation and reconstruction with PVCR for treatment of severe neglected congenital kyphosis through posterior approach. METHODS: Between 2010 and 2014, all patients with severe congenital kyphosis more than 90° were included. PVCR augmented with anterior vertebral body instrumentation was done for all patients through the same posterior approach. Cobb angle of the main kyphosis and scoliosis curves, the global sagittal and coronal balance were measured preoperatively, postoperatively and at 2-year follow-up. The functional outcome was assessed using the SRS-22 questionnaire preoperatively and at 2-year follow-up. RESULTS: Fourteen patients with mean age of 19.4 years were included. The mean follow-up period was 38 months. The mean number of resected vertebrae was 2.4 vertebrae per patient. The mean height of the anterior defect after resection was 6.4 cm. The mean preoperative local kyphosis angle was 104.6° that was corrected to a mean of 22.8° at 2-year follow-up. The sagittal vertical axis improved from 62.7 mm preoperatively to 21.4 mm at 2-year follow-up. The mean coronal Cobb angle was 71.2° preoperatively and 25.6° at 2-years follow-up. The mean coronal balance was 32.4 mm preoperatively and 13.6 mm at 2-year follow-up. All patients had significant improvement of the SRS-22 questionnaire at the last follow-up. CONCLUSION: Addition of anterior instrumentation to PVCR allows controlled gradual correction and more biomechanical stability. This technique should be preserved for high degrees of sagittal plane deformities. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.

Perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis in spinal surgery.

STUDY DESIGN: Complete audit cycle. INTRODUCTION: To highlight the unjustified overuse of perioperative antibiotics in clean non-instrumented lumbar spinal surgeries. To convince orthopedic surgeons in a methodological way of local field comparison between common practice on the use of perioperative antibiotics prophylaxis (PAP) in clean non-instrumented lumbar spinal surgeries and the ideal practice according to "The guidelines published by North American Spine Society (NASS)". METHODS: A complete audit cycle had been done. One hundred and eight patients underwent clean non-instrumented lumbar spinal surgeries in a tertiary spine center, during the period from the 1st of April to the 31st of June 2017 (primary audit period) and during the period from the 8th of May to the 21st of November 2018 (re-audit period). Group I: audit group (n = 54) was given the usual regimen (IV first-generation cephalosporin for 1-6 days, followed by oral antibiotics, till the removal of stitches) and Group II: re-audit group (n = 54) received only the IV antibiotics for one day). The study protocol was approved by our institution's Ethical Committee (17100582). RESULTS: This study showed a wide gap between international standards and local prescribing practices and calls for multiple interventions to improve our practice. Out of the 108 patients, only one case (1.85%) developed surgical site infection (SSI) in the audit group (Group I). The difference in infection rates between the two groups was statistically insignificant. CONCLUSION: A single-day postoperative dose of antibiotics effectively prevents postoperative wound infection following non-instrumented lumbar spinal surgery and is not associated with a higher infection rate.

COVID-19. An update for orthopedic surgeons.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected our world in a short period of time, and the orthopedic surgery practice was not an exclusion. Elective care was deferred in most health care facilities and emergency care was continued with strict precautions. With rapid progression of the pandemic, the response of the medical community is also rapidly changing in all aspects of delivering care. This led to a large number of publications with reports, guidelines, measures, ways to react to the crisis, and post-pandemic predictions and speculations. In this review we aimed at summarizing all the relevant information to the orthopedic surgery community. To do this, a comprehensive search was performed with all related terms on two scientific search engines, PubMed and SCOPUS, and the results were filtered by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method. The result was 72 articles that were further reduced to 33 articles after full text reading. The resultant information was organized under 5 main headings; the impact of pandemic on the orthopedic practice, COVID-19 and the trauma patient, elective and emergency surgeries during the pandemic, peri-operative management of the patient with COVID-19, Miscellaneous effects of the pandemic such as those on training programs and the evolution of telemedicine. This review represents the most up to date information published in the literature that is a must-know to every orthopedic surgeon.

Odontoid-sparing transnasal approach for drainage of craniocervical epidural abscess; a novel technique and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Surgical approaches to the craniovertebral junction (CVJ) are challenging. Available approaches include posterior, transoral, endonasal, and anterior extended retropharyngeal approach. Resection of the odontoid process is necessary to gain access to the pathology posterior to it. The resultant cranio-atlanto-axial instability usually necessitates subsequent posterior stabilization. PURPOSE: To describe a new odontoid-sparing approach to the spinal canal at the CVJ. This dens-sparing approach preserves occipito-atlanto-axial stability and avoids the need for occipitocervical stabilization that adds to the extent of surgery and its associated morbidity and mortality. STUDY DESIGN: Describing a novel technique and reporting two cases. PATIENT SAMPLE: Two patients that presented with infection at the CVJ with a retro-odontoid epidural abscess were operated on. OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported measures: visual analog scale for neck pain. Physiologic measures: plain x-rays (anteroposterior and lateral views), magnetic resonance imaging with contrast, computed tomography scan, C-reactive protein, and leukocytic count. Functional measures: dynamic flexion-extension views of the cervical spine. METHODS: Two patients were operated on using a combined endoscopic transnasal-transoral approach for drainage of a retro-odontoid epidural abscess and debridement without dens resection. A 4-mm, 30-degree rigid endoscope was used. Preoperative clinical and neurologic status was evaluated. The follow-up period was 12 months. The study received no funding from any organization. None of the authors has any relevant financial disclosures or conflict of interest. RESULTS: Both patients improved clinically after the endonasal transoral abscess drainage. Follow-up contrast magnetic resonance imaging showed complete resolution of the abscess after 3 weeks. Culture-sensitivity tests were positive for Staphylococcus aureus in one patient. Antibiotic therapy with clindamycin and flucloxacillin was continued for 12 weeks postoperatively. There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications. There was no need for posterior occipitocervical stabilization in both cases. CONCLUSION: This represents the first clinical report of accessing the spinal canal at the CVJ without resection of the odontoid or the anterior arch of the atlas. The addition of endoscopic-assisted supra-dental approach to the transoral one improved visibility, and allowed access to the most cranial part of spinal canal without the need for dens resection, a procedure that significantly compromises C0-1-2 stability necessitating stabilization. This novel odontoid-sparing approach showed a favorable outcome in our first two cases with retro-odontoid abscess; however, it would likely pose a high risk in other pathologies including tumors.

Extraforaminal microscopic assisted percutaneous nucleotomy for foraminal and extraforaminal lumbar disc herniations.

BACKGROUND: Foraminal and extraforaminal lumbar disc herniations are uncommon. The main presentation is radicular pain related to the exiting nerve root at the affected level. Different approaches for surgical intervention have been described. PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcome, complications recurrence, and reoperation rate of extraforaminal microscopic-assisted percutaneous nucleotomy, with literature review focusing on complications and recurrence rate. STUDY DESIGN: This is a prospective cohort study done in a high-flow spine center in Germany. PATIENT SAMPLE: Between October 2012 and October 2015, 76 patients (35 women and 41 men) with foraminal or extraforaminal lumbar disc prolapse were operated on. OUTCOME MEASURES: The following were the outcome measures: (1) self-report measures: Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for leg pain and back pain; (2) physiological measures: standing plain X-rays (anterioposterior, lateral, and dynamic views); and (3) functional measures: Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) (validated German version) and Odom's criteria. METHODS: All patients were operated upon with trans-tubular extraforaminal microscopic-assisted percutaneous nucleotomy (EF-MAPN) technique. Preoperative clinical and neurologic evaluations were done. The mean follow-up period was 38 months (range 12-54). The study has not received funding for research from any organization. All authors do not have any conflict of interest. RESULTS: The mean age was 54 years. The most commonly affected level was L4/L5 (34 patients). The mean preoperative VAS for leg pain was 7.6 (3-10), which improved to 1.4 (0-4) postoperatively. The average operative time was 57.5 minutes. There were no intraoperative complications. One patient had temporary postoperative quadriceps weakness (L4 radiculopathy) that was completely improved at 3 months' follow-up. Another patient had deep venous thrombosis after discharge. Two patients had recurrences that necessitated another operation within the first 6 months postoperatively. Both were followed up for 1 year without a second recurrence. CONCLUSION: Trans-tubular percutaneous extraforaminal microscopic-assisted nucleotomy is effective for foraminal and extraforaminal disc herniations. It is a muscle-splitting minimally invasive approach with minimal morbidity. Complications, recurrence, and reoperation rate are not different compared with microsurgical open or endoscopic techniques.

Comparative Study of Functional Outcome of Anterior Cervical Decompression and Interbody Fusion With Tricortical Stand-Alone Iliac Crest Autograft Versus Stand-Alone Polyetheretherketone Cage in Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to compare the outcome of anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF) with stand-alone tricortical iliac crest autograft versus stand-alone polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cage in cases of cervical spondylotic myelopathy. METHODS: Prospectively collected data of 60 patients in each group were compared. RESULTS: There was statistically significant improvement noted in postoperative Modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (MJOA) follow-up scores with comparison pairs of preoperative versus 6 months, preoperative versus 1 year, and 3 months versus 6 months, 3 months versus 1 year in both groups. But improvements in MJOA scores were statistically insignificant between 6 months and 1 year (P = .0639) for the autograft group when compared with PEEK cage group (P = 0001). The mean loss of segmental lordosis on follow-up X-ray for the autograft group was (5.89 ± 2.90°), which was significantly higher (1.88 ± 2.77°) than the mean loss seen in the PEEK cage group (P = .01). This was most evident between 6 months and 1 year, resulting in plateauing of the improvement in MJOA score between 6 months to 1 year in the autograft group. While there was no statistical difference between fusion rates between the groups for 1 and 2 levels of ACDF, overall fusion rates were significantly better for 1-level ACDF (95.74%) when compared with 2-level ACDF (76.00%). CONCLUSION: ACDF with PEEK cage is the fusion technique of choice for cervical fusion with fewer complications and better functional recovery in the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy.