Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease Research Articles

Nhu cầu chăm sóc phục hồi chức năng cho người bệnh thoái hóa cột sống thắt lưng tại Bệnh viện Y học Cổ Truyền

Objectives: Describe the needs and level of met needs for rehabilitation for patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD). Methods: The study used a cross- sectional descriptive design, data were collected from 150 inpatients with DDD in three departments of internal medicine, surgery, and acupuncture of the hospital. The assessment of needs and meeting the needs of the patient's rehabilitation is based on five types of needs (including rehabilitation for pain relief, rehabilitation for mobility for patients, postural rehabilitation, mental care and nutritional care for patients. Assessment of rehabilitation needs for patients with lower back pain is based on the criteria for diagnosis and treatment of patients with DDD according to the "Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of osteo-muscular diseases” by the Ministry of Health, the questionnaire includes a set of questions on five rehabilitation needs. The data were analyzed descriptively using software SPSS 20.0. Results: There were 89,47% of patients with all five groups of rehabilitation needs, the need for rehabilitation and pain relief accounted for 98%; meeting the needs for mobilization reached 79.33%; the need for postural rehabilitation accounted for 97,33%; mental care needs account for 80,00%, nutritional care need was 92,67%. Conclusion: The current needs of rehabilitations is high among patients in the traditional medicine hospital, accounting for 89,47%. Hospitals need to strengthen their response to nutritional care needs, postural rehabilitation needs, by improving the professional qualifications of medical staff, considering related policies so that patients can receive faster treatment. Keywords: Needs, care, rehabilitation, lumbar spine degeneration, Vietnam

Biomechanical effects of an oblique lumbar interbody fusion combined with posterior augmentation: a finite element analysis

BackgroundOblique lateral interbody fusion (OLIF) is widely used to treat lumbar degenerative disc disease. This study aimed to evaluate the biomechanical stability of OLIF, OLIF including posterior pedicle screw and rod (PSR), and OLIF including cortical screw and rod (CSR) instrumentation through finite element analysis.MethodsA complete L2-L5 finite element model of the lumbar spine was constructed. Surgical models of OLIF, such as stand-alone, OLIF combined with PSR, and OLIF combined with CSR were created in the L3-L4 surgical segments. Range of motion (ROM), end plate stress, and internal fixation peak stress were compared between different models under the same loading conditions.ResultsCompared to the intact model, ROM was reduced in the OLIF model under all loading conditions. The surgical models in order of increasing ROM were PSR, CSR, and stand-alone; however, the difference in ROM between BPS and CSR was less than 0.4° and was not significant under any loading conditions. The stand-alone model had the highest stress on the superior L4 vertebral body endplate under all loading conditions, whereas the end plate stress was relatively low in the BPS and CSR models. The CSR model had the highest internal fixation stress, concentrated primarily at the end of the screw.ConclusionsOLIF alone significantly reduces ROM but does not provide sufficient stability. Addition of posterior PSR or CSR internal fixation instrumentation to OLIF surgery can significantly improve biomechanical stability of the segment undergoing surgery.

Incidence of medical and surgical complications after elective lumbar spine surgery

IntroductionThe demographic change results in an ever increasing number of older patients with pre-existing medical conditions who require spinal surgery, and recovery is often severely impaired by procedure-related complications. The purpose of this retrospective study was to determine patients at risk of medical and surgical complications. MethodUsing our database, we reviewed 1244 patients with lumbar degenerative disk disease, spinal stenosis, and instability, who had undergone surgery at our department between 2009 and 2014. We screened for medical complications (thromboembolic and cardiac events, pneumonia, and sepsis) and surgical complications (hemorrhage, wound infection, and CSF fistula). Furthermore, a matched 1:1 control group consisted of 103 patients without any surgical and medical complications in the randomly selected period of May 2009 to October 2014. Results93 patients (46 women, 47 men), mean age 70 years (range 33–86 years, median 67.4 years), with complications were identified (overall morbidity 7.6 %): 22.6 % (n = 26) had medical complications and 77.4 % (n = 89) surgical complications. In 93 patients (46 females, 47 males), mean age 70 years (range 33–86 years, median 67.4 years), a total of 115 complications were noted (overall morbidity of the 93 patients 7.6 %): 22.6 % (n = 26) medical complications and 77.4 % (n = 89) surgical complications. Age and pre-existing conditions were independently associated with medical complications (p < 0.001). Infections (pneumonia and sepsis) were correlated with multi-segmental interventions (p = 0.009), duration of surgery (p = 0.009), and pre-existing conditions (p = 0.014). Surgical complications were significantly correlated with age (p = 0.016) and duration of surgery (p = 0.014) and occurred significantly more often in patients with instability (p < 0.001). Wound healing disorders were associated with coagulopathy (p = 0.013) and transfusion (p < 0.001). ConclusionsWe identified predictors that help identify patients at risk of medical and surgical complications. These correlations should be taken into account when advising older patients with pre-existing conditions on lumbar spine surgery.

Outcome of spine surgery in patients with depressed mental states: a Canadian spine outcome research network study

BACKGROUND CONTEXTDepression is higher among spine patients than among the general population. Some small studies, but not others, have suggested that depression may be a predictor of worse outcome after surgery. PURPOSEDetermination whether there is an association between depression and worse response to surgery among spine patients. STUDY DESIGN/SETTINGThe national, prospective, Canadian Spine Outcome Research Network (CSORN) surgical outcome registry. PATIENT SAMPLEAll patients in the CSORN registry who received surgery for thoracic or lumbar degenerative deformity, stenosis, spondylolisthesis, disc disease, or disc herniation with a minimum of 12 months follow-up postoperation (n = 2310). OUTCOME MEASURESOswestry Disability Index (ODI), SF12 Physical Component Score (PCS), European Quality of Life (EuroQoL), and pain scales. METHODSChange in preoperative to 12-month postoperative ODI, and secondary measures, were compared to assess if there was an association between preoperative depression, as measured by PHQ9, and smaller response to surgery. Multivariate regression analysis was used to search for preoperative factors which might interact with PHQ9 to predict ODI outcome. RESULTSPatients with PHQ9<5, associated with minimal to no depression, had the smallest ODI improvement (−16.8 [95%CI −18.1 to −15.3]) and patients with severe preoperative depression (PHQ9 ≥ 10) had the largest ODI improvement (−22.8 [95%CI −24.1 to −21.5]; p<.00001). Similar findings were found in the EQ5D and PCS. Pain improvement was not different between depression levels. Multivariate modeling found worse baseline PHQ9 and ODI, greater age, nicotine use, more operative levels, and worse American Society of Anesthesiology score was predictive of worse ODI outcomes. CONCLUSIONSDepressed patients have similar or better relative improvements in disability, quality of life, and pain, when compared to nondepressed patients, although their preoperative and postoperative levels of disability are higher. Surgeons should not be concerned that depression will reduce the patient-reported beneficial response to surgical intervention.

Abstract No. 45 Treatment of painful lumbar degenerative disc disease: a feasibility study with hydrogel

Low back pain is the most common musculoskeletal problem worldwide, resulting in large medical and disability costs. Degenerative disc disease (DDD) represents the most common single cause of chronic low back pain (CLBP). This is a prospective single-arm early feasibility study that is a first in human trial to evaluate an injectable hydrogel and to assess its safety and performance.

20-year Inflation-Adjusted Medicare Reimbursements (Years: 2000-2020) For Common Lumbar and Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease Procedures.

Reimbursement trends for common procedures have persistently declined over the past 2 decades. Spinal instrumentational and fusion procedures are increasingly utilized and have increased in clinical complexity, yet longitudinal inflation-adjusted data for Medicare reimbursements of these procedures have not been evaluated. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Fee Schedule Look-Up Tool was used to extract Medicare reimbursements for the 5 most common spinal procedures and associated instrumentations from 2000-2020. Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes include 22551, 22600, 22633, 63030, and 63047 as well as instrumentation CPT codes 22840 and 22842-6. The nominal values were adjusted for inflation according to the latest consumer price index (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; reported as 2020 USD) and used to calculate average annual percent changes and compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) in reimbursements. After inflation adjustment, the physician fee reimbursement decreased by 11.05% ± 8.46% (mean ± s.d., from $2,009.89 in 2011 to $1,787.85 in 2020) for anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), 28.38% ± 8.42% (from $1,889.38 in 2000 to $1,353.14 in 2020) for posterior cervical fusion, 7.85% ± 8.20% (from $2,111.20 in 2012 to $1,945.49 in 2020) for transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), 28.17% ± 13.88% (from $1,421.78 in 2000 to $1,021.22 in 2020) for lower back disc surgery, and 31.88% ± 8.22% (from $1,700.38 in 2000 to $1,158.25 in 2020) for lumbar laminectomy. Instrumentation reimbursements showed an average decrease of 33.43% ± 8.4% over this period. Average CAGR was -1.7% ± .41% for procedures and -2.02% ± .14% for instrumentation. Our analysis reveals a persistent decline in reimbursement rates of the most common spine procedures and instrumentation since the year 2000. If unaddressed, this trend can serve as a substantial disincentive for physicians to perform these procedures and can significantly limit access to spinal care at the population level.

Circumferential Fusion Employing Transforaminal vs. Direct Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion-A Potential Impact on Implants Stability.

BackgroundDifferent fusion techniques were introduced in clinical practice in patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease, however, no evidence has been provided on the advantages of one technique over another.The Objective of This StudyIs to assess the potential impact of circumferential fusion employing transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) vs. direct lateral interbody fusion (DLIF) on pedicle screw stability.Materials and MethodsThis is a single-center prospective evaluation of consecutive 138 patients with degenerative instability of lumbar spinal segments. Either conventional transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) with posterior fusion or direct lateral interbody fusion (DLIF) using cages of standard dimensions, were applied. The conventional open technique was used to supplement TLIF with pedicle screws while percutaneous screw placement was used in patients treated with DLIF. The duration of the follow-up accounted for 24 months. Signs of pedicle screws loosening (PSL) and bone union after fusion were assessed by the results of CT imaging. Fisher‘s exact test was used to assess the differences in the rate of CT loosening and revision surgery because of implant instability. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between potential factors and complication rate.ResultsThe rate of PSL detected by CT and relevant revision surgery in groups treated with TLIF and DLIF accounted for 25 (32.9%) vs. 2 (3.2%), respectively, for the former and 9 (12.0%) vs. 0 (0%) for the latter (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0043) respectively. According to the results of logistic regression, a decrease in radiodensity values and a greater number of levels fused were associated with a rise in PSL rate. DLIF application in patients with radiodensity below 140 HU was associated with a considerable decrease in complication rate. Unipolar or bipolar pseudoarthrosis in patients operated on with TLIF was associated with a rise in PSL rate while patients treated with DLIF tolerate delayed interbody fusion formation. In patients treated with TLIF supplementary total or partial posterior fusion resulted in a decline in PSL rate.ConclusionEven though the supplementary posterior fusion may considerably reduce the rate of PSL in patients treated with TLIF, the application of DLIF provide greater stability resulting in a substantial decline in PSL rate and relevant revision surgery.

Whether Anterolateral Single Rod Can Maintain the Surgical Outcomes Following Oblique Lumbar Interbody Fusion for Double-Segment Disc Disease.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the outcomes of oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) combined with anterolateral single‐rod screw fixation (AF) in treating two‐segment lumbar degenerative disc disease (LDDD) and to determine whether AF can maintain the surgical results.MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed on patients who underwent OLIF combined with AF (OLIF‐AF) for LDDD at the L3‐5 levels between October 2017 and May 2018. A total of 84 patients, including 44 males and 40 females, with a mean age of 62.8 ± 6.8 years, who completed the 12‐month follow‐up were eventually enrolled. Clinical outcomes, including the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), visual analog scale (VAS) score for the low back and leg, and radiographic parameters, including the cross‐sectional area (CSA) of the spinal canal, disc height (DH), foraminal height (FH), degree of upper vertebral slippage (DUVS), segmental lumbar lordosis (SL), fusion rate, and lumbar lordosis (LL), were recorded before surgery and 1 and 12 months after surgery. Surgical‐related complications, including cage subsidence (CS), were also evaluated. The local radiographic parameters were compared between L3‐4 and L4‐5. The clinical results and all radiographic parameters were compared between patients with and without CS.ResultsSignificant improvements were observed in radiographic parameters 1 day postoperatively (p < 0.05). Local radiological parameters in L4‐5 had a significant decrease at 12 months postoperatively (p < 0.05), while they were well‐maintained at L3‐4 throughout the follow‐up period (p > 0.05). CS was observed in 26 segments (15.5%). Endplate injury was observed in four segments (2.4%). There was no significant difference in the fusion rate between the segments with and without CS (p = 0.355). The clinical results improved significantly after surgery (p < 0.05), and no significant difference was observed between the groups with and without CS (p > 0.05).ConclusionsAnterolateral fixation combined with OLIF provides sufficient stability to sustain most radiological improvements in treating double‐segment LDDD. Subsidence was the most common complication, which was prone to occur in L4‐5 compared to L3‐4, but did not impede the fusion process or diminish the surgical results.

Prevalence of Lumbar Disk Herniation in Adult Patients with Low Back Pain Based in Magnetic Resonance Imaging Diagnosis

Background: Lumbar disc degenerative disease has now been proven as the most common cause of low back pain throughout the world. Approximately 5–15% of patients with low back pain suffer from lumbar disc herniation. Presenting symptoms of lumbar disc degeneration are lower back pain and sciatica which may be aggravated by walking, sitting, standing, bending, lifting etc. Aim: To evaluate based on MRI images the prevalence of LDH in patients with low back pain and its correlation between various demographic data. Methods: This Cross sectional and observational study was conducted from January 2016 to December 2017 at department of Imagery in the University Hospital Center `Mother Theresa`. During the two years’ period of this study, 342 patients of low back pain were presented to department of imagery suspected for lumbar disc herniation. Diagnostic criteria were based upon abnormal findings in MRI. All MRI scans were obtained with 1.5 tesla MRI machine. Data analysis was carried out with SPSS software for Windows version 20.0. Results: Overall 342 patients with LBP came into Imagery department, the prevalence of lumbar disc herniation resulted 31.9% (109/342). Most of patients 60.5% were presented with continuous LBP with a predominance of deterioration of pain by the walking activity 65.2%. The average age of patients with LDH resulted 51.12 years old with min 32 years and max 74 years old. The ratio M:F of LDH patients resulted 1.4, with predominance of males 59.6%. The active age 40-49 years (28.9%) old and 50-59 years (36.9%) were the most affected by LDH compared to other age groups. Based on MRI images disc herniation was most commonly present at the level of L3/L4 and L4/L5. Commonest types of disc herniation were protrusion 63.3% (69/109) followed by extrusion 21.1% (23/109). In the overall multivariate regression analysis, a significant relation between lumbar disk herniation and some of occupation was found (p˂0.05) Conclusions: Biologically, the lumbar herniation disc is a potential contributor to low back pain. The prevalence of LDH among patients with LBP resulted 31.9%, and men were more prone to suffered from disc herniation than women, due to increased mechanical stress and injury. Results reported the frequent occurrence of lumbar disc degenerative disease in active age. The lumbar discs most often affected and leads to herniation are L3-L4, and L4–L5. Research efforts should endeavor to reduce risk factors and improve the quality of life.

Predictors of long-term clinical outcomes in adult patients after lumbar total disc replacement: development and validation of a prediction model.

Long-term outcomes of single-level lumbar arthroplasty are understood to be very good, with the most recent Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) trial showing a < 5% reoperation rate at the close of the 7-year study. This post hoc analysis was conducted to determine whether specific patients from the activL IDE data set had better outcomes than the mean good outcome of the IDE trial, as well as to identify contributing factors that could be optimized in real-world use. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were developed using the randomized patient set (n = 283) from the activL trial and used to identify predictive factors and to derive risk equations. The models were internally validated using the randomized patient set and externally validated using the nonrandomized patient set (n = 52) from the activL trial. Predictive power was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Two factors were significantly associated with achievement of better than the mean outcomes at 7 years. Randomization to receive the activL device was positively associated with better than the mean visual analog scale (VAS)-back pain and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores, whereas preoperative narcotics use was negatively associated with better than the mean ODI score. Preoperative narcotics use was also negatively associated with return to unrestricted full-time work. Other preoperative factors associated with positive outcomes included unrestricted full-time work, working manual labor after index back injury, and decreasing disc height. Older age, greater VAS-leg pain score, greater ODI score, female sex, and working manual labor before back injury were identified as preoperative factors associated with negative outcomes. Preoperative BMI, VAS-back pain score, back pain duration ≥ 1 year, SF-36 physical component summary score, and recreational activity had no effect on outcomes. Lumbar total disc replacement for symptomatic single-level lumbar degenerative disc disease is a well-established option for improving long-term patient outcomes. Discontinuing narcotics use may further improve patient outcomes, as this analysis identified associations between no preoperative narcotics use and better ODI score relative to the mean score of the activL trial at 7 years and increased likelihood of return to work within 7 years. Other preoperative factors that may further improve outcomes included unrestricted full-time work, working manual labor despite back injury, sedentary work status before back injury, and randomization to receive the activL device. Tailoring patient care before total disc replacement may further improve patient outcomes.

High Volume PRP Therapy.

The PRP method is widely used to support healing and regeneration in musculoskeletal and aesthetic medicine. The current literature, however, brings contradictory reports as to its effectiveness, which, at least in part, should be attributed to the diversity of methods for producing the concentrate, including the use of various volumes of whole blood, single vs double centrifugation vs filtration, use of thrombin vs calcium chloride to activate the process, and, finally, the use of an anticoagulant. The aim of the study was to retrospectively evaluate the effectiveness of high-volume PRP therapy with the Angel® system (Arthrex) in our patients. A total of 400 therapies were performed on 299 patients. The most frequently represented indications were knee osteoarthritis (OA), n = 164, including mild (n = 30), moderate (n = 38), and advanced (n = 96) stage; lumbar degenerative disc disease (LDDD), n = 54; rotator cuff injuries (RCI), n = 52; lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), n = 37; cervical degenerative disc disease (CDDD), n = 17; and shoulder OA, n = 12. Therapies for LDDD and LSS patients were additionally divided with respect to the route of administration (periradicular vs epidural). The assessment tool was the modified Macnab scale. Follow-up examinations were performed at two and six months after PRP administration. Indicators of treatment success were defined as the percentage of satisfactory results and the percentage ratio of satisfactory results to non-satisfactory results after 2 and 6 months of follow-up (S/NS2 and S/NS6). For the advanced stage of knee OA, the results were compared in three age groups (under 66, 67-73 and over 74). For the entire treatment group, the mean S/NS2 ratio was 1.56; in the group of the most frequently represented indications, the highest satisfaction ratio was obtained in LDDD (2.84), and the lowest in the group of RCI (0.96). The mean value of the S/ NS6 ratio was 2.24, being the highest in mild knee OA (4.79) and CDDD (4.67), and the lowest in shoulder OA (0.72). In the age group over 74 years, the frequency of non-satisfactory results shows an increase in patients with advanced knee OA. 1. High-volume PRP therapy can be used as a local regenerative and anti-inflammatory treatment, demonstrating the highest efficacy in early knee OA and CDDD. 2. High PRP therapy demonstrates a high safety profile. 3. The final effects of the therapy develop over a period of several months of follow-up and depend on the severity of the degenerative process and the patient&apos;s age.

Frequency of Lumber Disc Degenerative Diseases in Patients with and Without Radiculopathy and Low Back Pain Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Degenerative lumbar disc disease is a condition in which an intervertebral disk and surrounding spinal components are weakened. This might be due to age or a pathogenic cause. Individuals may complain of low back pain. Objective: To determine the pattern of lumbar spine and disc degenerative diseases amongst patients having or not having Low Back Pain with or without radiculopathy diagnosed on Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Methods: Data was collected following inclusion criteria using convenient sampling technique. A total of 266 Patients undergone Lumber MRI scans on MRI Machine 1.5T Phillips. Data was collected from Radiology Department of Tertiary Care Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan. Data was entered and analyzed on SPSS version 20. Age Groups, Gender frequencies were mentioned. Cross Tabulation of Lumber Disc Degenerative Diseases with age and Gender was done and Chi square was applied. P-value ≤0.05 was considered significant. Results: The most prevalent age group for disc degeneration was 40-59 having 56.8 %. Females with disc degeneration have the highest frequency of 143 (53.8%) while males were 123 (48.2%). Lumber Disc degeneration was 101 (38%), Disc Herniation 54 (20.3%), and last with lowest presence of Spinal Canal Stenosis 18 (6.8%). Patients with Radiculopathy with Low back Pain was 61 (22.93%) and only LBP was the most common between the patients having 205 (77.1%). Cross Tabulation of Age Groups with Lumber Disc Pathologies was Significant having P value 0.05. Conclusion: In conclusion MRI can detect Disc Degeneration, Disc Herniation &amp; Buldges, and Spinal Canal Stenosis &amp; Nerve Root Compression. It can be considered significant and accurate to avoid any other interventional procedures. It is also concluded the LBP is an important factor in Disc Degenerative changes &amp; radiculopathy is less seen.

Pathophysiology, Investigations and Operative Management in Cases of Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease

Pathophysiology, Investigations and Operative Management in Cases of Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease

Comparison of clinical and radiological results of dynamic and rigid instrumentation in degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis.

ObjectiveLumbar spinal stenosis is defined as a clinical syndrome characterized by neurogenic claudication or radicular pain due to the narrowing of the spinal canal or neural foramen and the compression of its neural elements. Surgical treatment is applied to decompress the neural structures. In some cases, transpedicular instrumentation and fusion may also be applied. In this study, we aimed to investigate and compare the preoperative and postoperative, clinical and radiological aspects of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis who underwent lumbar instrumentation using a polyetheretherketone (PEEK) rod or a titanium rod.Materials and Methods:In this study, the files of 293 patients who underwent posterior lumbar transpedicular stabilization between January 2015 and February 2018 in the Neurosurgery Clinic of Ümraniye Training and Research Hospital were reviewed retrospectively. Patients who did not meet the study criteria were excluded, and 127 patients who met the criteria and underwent posterior lumbar transpedicular stabilization due to lumbar spinal stenosis and/or lumbar degenerative disc disease were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were divided into two groups, dynamic and rigid, according to the rod types used. The two groups were compared using various postoperative clinical and radiological parameters.Results:The demographic data, surgical data, Visual Analog Scale-Oswestry Disability Index (VAS-ODI) data, and radiological data of both groups were carefully examined. There were 63 patients in the rigid group and 64 patients in the dynamic group. The age range in both groups was from 30 to 78 years, with a mean age of 56.44 years; 99 of the cases were female and 28 were male. The analysis of the participants' demographic data showed no significant differences between the two groups. Compared with the preoperative data, the postoperative evaluations revealed a significant decrease in VAS and ODI, but no significant difference was observed between the two groups. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of duration of surgery, follow-up time, operating distances, hospitalization duration, pseudoarthrosis, or fusion. Regarding the total and segmental range of motion, the affection was less in the dynamic group, which allowed for more movement. While there was no difference in disc height index between the two preoperative groups, it was observed that it was better maintained in the rigid group in the postoperative long term. Regarding foraminal height (FH), there was no difference between the two groups in the preoperative and early postoperative periods, but in the long term, FH was better maintained in the dynamic group. The long-term follow-ups revealed that adjacent segment disease (ASD) had developed in 19 patients in the rigid group, whereas ASD developed in only nine patients in the dynamic group. Based on these results, the probability of developing significant ASD in the rigid group was higher.Conclusion:Previous experience with PEEK rod systems has demonstrated physiological spine movement, increased fusion rates, minimal complications, reduction in adjacent segment degeneration, and biomechanical compatibility. Although further long-term studies are needed and the cost of PEEK systems is likely to be a barrier, the results of the present study support the use of PEEK rods and other dynamic systems in spinal surgery.

Utility of the annular closure device in the treatment of degenerative disc disease: A Meta-Analysis with trial sequential analysis

Lumbar degenerative disc disease is a common etiology of lower backache and resulting morbidity, severe disease can even result in neurological deficits. Recurrence occurs even after surgical treatment and results in poor prognosis, loss of productivity, and increased healthcare costs. Novel methods to tackle this based on countering plausible biomechanical reasons for recurrence have emerged including the recently investigated Annular Closure Device (ACD). Few RCTs and numerous comparative studies and post-hoc analyses have evaluated its safety, efficacy, and health economics; this review aims to provide an objective overview of the ACD. It was observed that ACD use was associated with significantly lower reoperations and re-herniations while having comparable or slightly higher complication rates and significantly saving direct and indirect costs. Leg pain and Back pain at follow-up were comparable between ACD and control groups. TSA objectively reveals the need for more data to ascertain ACD safety and efficacy. ACD usage has been shown to reduce re-herniations, reoperations while having comparable back pain and complication rates; thus having a positive health economics benefit. This should encourage more widespread adoption of ACD which would function to reduce the data gap.

Automatic semantic segmentation and detection of vertebras and intervertebral discs by neural networks

Objective: To realize a tool for automatic segmentation and detection of lumbar disc degenerative disease and fractures in MRI images using convolutional neural networks. Material and methods: We developed, on one hand, a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) with a DICOM viewer (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) to extract training data and implement 2 CNN networks dedicated to the segmentation task and on the other hand, the analysis of simple lumbar pathologies on the other hand.Two hundred forty-four MRI scans T2 weighted sagittal were selected at the university hospital Pasteur 2 of Nice - France.After accomplishing segmentation and classification task for all structures of interest, we trained two neural networks (U-Net++ and Yolov5x) to segment and detect discs and vertebras. Results: Neural networks allowed semantic segmentations with a good accuracy of the order of 0.96 and 0.93 DICE index for intervertebral discs and vertebral bodies respectively.They are less effective in detecting of common pathologies (degenerative disc disease, disc herniation, vertebral fractures) with an area under the precision-recall curve of 0.88 for fractures and 0.76 for degenerative disc disease. Conclusion: Our work has shown good efficiency for the segmentation of vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs, but progress remains to be made in the detection of degenerative discopathy and vertebral fractures.On this last point, we believe that the lower performance can be attributed to a lack of training images and that better performances will be achieved with the increase of the training data set on our home made PACS. We will also provide other regions of interest and conditions.

Study of Quality of Life and Its Influencing Factors in Patients After Lumbar Fusion for Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease

Study of Quality of Life and Its Influencing Factors in Patients After Lumbar Fusion for Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease

Endoscopic techniques for lumbar degenerative disc disease: The problem of plenty!

Endoscopic techniques for lumbar degenerative disc disease: The problem of plenty!

The expression of metalloproteinases in the lumbar disc correlates strongly with Pfirrmann MRI grades in lumbar spinal fusion patients

IntroductionIncreased catabolism of the extracellular matrix is observed under degenerative disc disease (DDD). The cleavage of extracellular matrix proteins in the nucleus pulposus (NP) by either matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) or a disintegrin and metalloproteinases with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTSs) is believed to be involved in the degeneration, but the mechanisms are not known. Research questionHere, we examine the correlation between expression of several MMPs and ADAMTSs subtypes in lumbar discs from 34 patients with low back pain (LBP) undergoing 1-2 level lumbar fusion surgery (L4/L5 and/or L5/S1) for DDD with or without spondylolisthesis. Materials and MethodsThe mRNA levels of MMPs (subtypes 1, 2, 3, 10, and 13) and ADAMTSs (subtypes 1, 4, and 5) were analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and correlated to the Pfirrmann magnetic resonance imaging classification system (grade I-V) of lumbar DDD. ResultsWe find a highly significant positive correlation between Pfirrmann grades and the gene expression of MMP1 (r=0.67, p=0.0001), MMP3 (r=0.61, p=0.0002), MMP10 (r=0.6701, p=0.0001), MMP13 (r=0.48, p=0.004), ADAMTS1 (r=0.67, p=0.0001), and ADAMTS5 (r=0.53, p=0.0017). The similar regulation of these transcript suggests their involvement in disc degeneration. Interestingly, a post hoc analysis (uncorrected p-values) also demonstrated a positive correlation between expression of TNF-α, IL-6 and both ADAMTSs/MMPs and the Pfirrmann grades. Discussion and ConclusionThese findings show that disc degradation in DDD is strongly associated with the expression of some metalloproteinases.

Five-Repetition Sit-to-Stand Test Performance in Healthy Individuals: Reference Values and Predictors From 2 Prospective Cohorts.

ObjectiveThe 5-repetition-sit-to-stand (5R-STS) test is an objective test of functional impairment- commonly used in various diseases, including lumbar degenerative disc diseases. It is used to measure the severity of disease and to monitor recovery. We aimed to evaluate reference values for the test, as well as factors predicting 5R-STS performance in healthy adults. MethodsHealthy adults (> 18 years of age) were recruited, and their 5R-STS time was measured. Their age, sex, weight, height, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, education level, work situation and EuroQOL-5D Healthy & Anxiety category were recorded. Linear regression analysis was employed to identify predictors of 5R-STS performance. ResultsWe included 172 individuals with mean age of 39.4±14.1 years and mean BMI of 24.0 ±4.0 kg/m2. Females constituted 57%. Average 5R-STS time was 6.21 ±1.92 seconds, with an upper limit of normal of 12.39 seconds. In a multivariable model, age (regression coefficient [RC], 0.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.05/0.09; p<0.001), male sex (RC, -0.87; 95% CI, -1.50 to -0.23; p=0.008), BMI (RC, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.10–0.71; p=0.010), height (RC, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.04–0.22; p=0.006), and houseworker status (RC, -1.62; 95% CI, -2.93 to -0.32; p=0.016) were significantly associated with 5R-STS time. Anxiety and depression did not influence performance significantly (RC, 0.82; 95% CI, -0.14 to 1.77; p=0.097). ConclusionThe presented reference values can be applied as normative data for 5R-STS in healthy adults, and are necessary to judge what constitutes abnormal performance. We identified several significant factors associated with 5R-STS performance that may be used to calculate individualized expected test times.