Faculty Bibliography

Rotator cuff tear (RCT) and cervical spinal stenosis (CSS) are common pathologies in the elderly. Both conditions may present with lateral shoulder pain and weakness or numbness of the upper extremity, potentially affecting patients' ability to live independently. Few data are available on the incidence of CSS among patients with concurrent RCT. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of CSS among RCT patients, demographics, and surgical management using a national insurance database. The Medicare database was used to identify patients with RCT and concomitant CSS by ICD-9 codes from 2005-2014. Trends based on age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) were assessed. Utilization of open and arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (RCR) was compared. A total of 86,501 patients were identified. The number of patients diagnosed with RCT and CSS significantly increased (p< 0.0001). The incidence of CSS in patients with RCT increased from 9% to 13% (p < 0.05). Females < 64 years were more likely to exhibit combined pathology than age-matched males (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.18) or females > 65 years (OR 1.64, 96% CI 1.61 to 1.67). A BMI of 30-40 kg/m2 demonstrated the highest incidence (43%, p < 0.0001). Arthroscopic RCR increased by 2% (p = 0.03) in RCT-CSS. The incidence of CSS in RCT patient is increasing. Orthopedic surgeons should maintain high clinical suspicion for concurrent CSS pathology in patients with RCT, particularly in obese female patients > 65 years with several medical comorbidities. Further investigation into the influence of these concurrent pathologies on patient outcomes is warranted.

Clinical care of patients with unstable thoracolumbar vertebral body fractures may be challenging, especially in the setting of polytrauma patients who require other acute intervention. Compared with the traditional open approach, percutaneous short-segment fixation constructs place less surgical burden on patients regarding operative time and blood loss. Between 2008 and 2012, 32 patients with a mean age of 49 years (range, 19-80 years) underwent percutaneous short-segment fixation at the authors' institution and had a minimum of 6 months of complete clinical and radiographic follow-up. Load-sharing classification scores were determined. Outcomes evaluated included anterior body height, posterior body height, local kyphosis, regional kyphosis, thoracolumbar junctional kyphosis, mean operative time, and total blood loss. Standard binomial and categorical comparative analyses were performed. All load-sharing classification scores were 7 or less, and 11 of the 32 patients were polytrauma patients requiring surgery. No difference was seen between preoperative and late measurements of anterior body height, posterior body height, local kyphosis, regional kyphosis, or thoracolumbar junctional kyphosis. There were no complications, revisions, or anterior corpectomies. Only 2 patients (6%) underwent elective removal of hardware at 1 year. Mean operative time was 43 minutes (range, 33-56 minutes), and mean estimated blood loss was less than 50 mL. Percutaneous short-segment fixation prevented loss of vertebral body height and progression of kyphosis in the treatment of unstable thoracolumbar fractures with load-sharing classification scores of 7 or less. This study shows that these fractures with a load-sharing classification score of 6 and 7 may be stabilized using fewer screws than traditional methods in some patients and allow polytrauma patients to undergo other acute treatment. [Orthopedics. 201x; xx(x):xx-xx.].

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to compare anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) and minimally invasive posterior cervical foraminotomy (MI-PCF) with tubes for the treatment of cervical radiculopathy in terms of the 1) overall revision proportion, 2) index and adjacent level revision rates, and 3) functional outcome scores. METHODS The authors retrospectively reviewed the records of consecutive patients who had undergone ACDF or MI-PCF at a single institution between 2009 and 2014. Patients treated for cervical radiculopathy without myelopathy and with a minimum 2-year follow-up were compared according to the procedure performed for their pathology. Primary outcome measures included the overall rate of revision with fusion and overall revision proportion as well as the rate of index and adjacent level revisions per year. Secondarily, self-reported outcome measures-Neck Disability Index (NDI) and visual analog scale (VAS) for arm (VASa) and neck (VASn) pain-at the preoperative and postoperative evaluations were analyzed. Standard binomial and categorical comparative analyses were performed. RESULTS Forty-nine consecutive patients were treated with MI-PCF, and 210 consecutive patients were treated with ACDF. The mean follow-up for the MI-PCF cohort was 42.9 ± 6.6 months (mean ± SD) and for the ACDF cohort was 44.9 ± 10.3 months. There was no difference in the overall revision proportion between the two cohorts (4 [8.2%] of 49 MI-PCF vs. 12 [5.7%] of 210 ACDF, p = 0.5137). There was no difference in the revision rate per level per year (3.1 vs. 1.7, respectively, p = 0.464). Moreover, there was no difference in the revision rate per level per year at the index level (1.8 vs. 0.7, respectively, p = 0.4657) or at an adjacent level (1.3 vs. 1.1, p = 0.9056). Neither was there a difference between the cohorts as regards the change from preoperative to final postoperative functional outcome scores (NDI, VASa, VASn). CONCLUSIONS Minimally invasive PCF for the treatment of cervical radiculopathy demonstrates rates of revision at the index and adjacent levels similar to those following ACDF. In order to confirm the positive efficacy and cost analysis findings in this study, future studies need to extend the follow-up and show that the rate of revision with fusion does not increase substantially over time.

STUDY DESIGN/METHODS:Retrospective cohort study (level of evidence: 4). PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To describe the potential comorbid, operative, and radiographic risk factors for the development of clinically-relevant pseudarthrosis following minimally-invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF). OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE/BACKGROUND:MIS-TLIF has shown long-term clinical outcomes with decreased perioperative morbidity and earlier return to work, similar to those of open TLIF. However, unsuccessful fusion still remains a concern. The impacts of various patient, operative, and radiographic risk factors have not been evaluated for their potential association with pseudarthrosis related to MIS-TLIF. METHODS:Between 2012 and 2015, 204 consecutive patients underwent one or two-level MIS-TLIF at St. Joseph's University Medical Center, Paterson, NJ, USA; they had a minimum of 1 year of follow-up. The patients were divided into two cohorts: those who developed clinically-relevant pseudarthrosis and those who did not. Clinically-relevant pseudarthrosis was determined by both evidence on computed tomography and presence of continued clinical symptoms at 1-year follow-up. RESULTS:Revision surgery was the only identified non-radiographic factor associated with pseudarthrosis. Disc angle had the highest (R 2=0.8), followed by anterior disc height (R 2=0.79). Although posterior disc height and the ratio of anterior to posterior disc height showed a marked relationship with the outcome, the R 2-values were <0.3, thus indicating a less-strong correlation. The overall pseudarthrosis rate was 8%. No statistically significant differences were identified between the two cohorts with respect to mean age, sex, medical comorbidities, smoking status, or number of levels fused. CONCLUSIONS:Clinically-relevant pseudarthrosis is not uncommon following MIS-TLIF. In the current study, undergoing revision surgery, disc angle, and anterior disc height were observed to be associated with clinically-relevant pseudarthrosis. This study demonstrated that the patient population may benefit from an alternate approach.

BACKGROUND:Several studies have sought to address the role of routine preoperative MRI in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) undergoing deformity correction. Despite similar results regarding the prevalence of neuraxial anomalies detected on MRI, published conclusions conflict and give opposing recommendations. Lack of consensus has led to important variations in use of MRI before spinal surgery for patients with AIS. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES/OBJECTIVE:This systematic review and meta-analysis of studies about patients with AIS evaluated (1) the overall proportion of neuraxial abnormalities; (2) the patient factors and curve characteristics that may be associated with abnormalities; and (3) the proportion of patients who underwent neurosurgical intervention before scoliosis surgery and the kinds of neuraxial lesions that were identified. METHODS:We performed a search of four electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus, and SCOPUS) utilizing search terms related to routine MRI and AIS, yielding 206 articles. Studies included had at least 20 participants, patients with ages 11 to 21 years, and a Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS) study quality score of 8 and 16 points for noncomparative and comparative studies, respectively. Non-English manuscripts, animal studies, and those that did not include patients with AIS solely were excluded. Eighteen articles with 4746 patients were included for analysis of the overall proportion of neuraxial abnormalities, 12 articles with 3028 patients for analysis by sex, eight articles with 1603 patients for right main thoracic curve, eight articles with 665 patients for a left main thoracic curve, and 13 articles with 3063 patients and 230 (7.5%) abnormalities for number of neurosurgical interventions before scoliosis correction. The mean MINORS score for studies included was 14 (range, 10-20). Each study was analyzed for the proportion of patients identified with neuraxial abnormalities and associations with specific demographics. We determined the proportion of patients who underwent surgical interventions before scoliosis surgery as well as the types of neuraxial lesions identified. The articles were assessed for heterogeneity and publication bias. Because all groups were determined to be heterogeneous, a random-effects model was used for each group in this meta-analysis; with this analysis, an overlap of 95% confidence intervals suggests no difference at the p < 0.05 level, but this analytic approach does not provide p values. RESULTS:The pooled proportion of neuraxial abnormalities detected on MRI was 8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 6%-12%). With the numbers available, we found no difference in the proportion of male and female patients with neuraxial abnormalities (18% [95% CI, 11%-29%] versus 9% [95% CI, 6%-12%], respectively). Likewise, there was no difference in the proportion of pooled neuraxial abnormalities in right and left curves (9% [95% CI, 6%-14%] versus 15% [95% CI, 5%-35%], respectively). In the subset of abnormalities analyzed for number of neurosurgical interventions before scoliosis correction, the pooled proportion showed that 33% (95% CI, 24%-43%) underwent neurosurgical intervention before deformity correction. The most common abnormalities of the 367 found on MRI were syringomyelia in 127 patients (35%), Arnold-Chiari Type 1 malformation with syrinx in 103 patients (28%), and isolated Arnold-Chiari Type 1 malformation in 91 patients (25%). CONCLUSIONS:The proportion of patients with AIS who have neuraxial abnormalities is high (8%) and a large number undergo surgical intervention before scoliosis reconstruction. We did not find any particular demographic variables that indicated an increased risk of abnormality. Clinicians should consider advanced imaging before surgical intervention in the treatment of a patient with an idiopathic diagnosis. Preventable variables need to be identified by future studies to establish a better working treatment protocol for these patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE/METHODS:Level III, diagnostic study.

Study Design/UNASSIGNED:Retrospective case series with prospective arm. Purpose/UNASSIGNED:To assess the safety and accuracy of percutaneous lumbosacral pedicle screw placement (PLPSP) in the lumbosacral spine using intraoperative dual-planar fluoroscopy (DPF). Overview of Literature/UNASSIGNED:There are several techniques available for achieving consistent, safe, and accurate results with PLPSP. There is a paucity of literature describing the beneficial operative, economic, and clinical outcomes of DPF, the most readily accessible image guidance system. Methods/UNASSIGNED:From 2004 to 2014, 451 consecutive patients underwent PLPSP using DPF, for a total of 2,345 screw placement. The results of prospectively obtained postoperative computed tomography (CT) examinations of an additional 41 consecutive patients were compared with the results of 104 CT examinations obtained postoperatively due to clinical symptomatology; these results were interpreted by three reviewers. The rates of revision indicated by misplaced screws with consistent clinical symptomatology were compared between groups. Pedicle screw placement was graded according to 2-mm increments in medial pedicle wall breach and measurement of screw axis placement. Results/UNASSIGNED:Seven of the 2,345 pedicle screws placed percutaneously with the use of the dual-planar fluoroscopic technique required revision because of a symptomatic misplaced screw, for a screw revision rate of 0.3%. There were no statistically significant demographic differences between patients who had screws revised and those who did not. All screws registered greater than 10 mA on electromyographic stimulation. In the 41 prospectively obtained CT examinations, one out of 141 screws (0.7%) was revised due to pedicle wall breach; whereas among the 104 patients with 352 screws, three screws were revised (0.9%). Conclusions/UNASSIGNED:DPF is an extremely accurate, safe, and reproducible technique for placement of percutaneous pedicle screws and is a readily available and cost-effective alternative to CT-guided pedicle screw placement techniques. Postoperative CT evaluation is not necessary with PLPSP unless the patient is symptomatic. Acceptable electromyographic thresholds may need to be reevaluated.

STUDY DESIGN/METHODS:This is a epidemiological database analysis. OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:The objectives of this article are to assess the following characteristics of vertebral osteomyelitis (VO): (1) incidence and patient demographics, (2) mortality rate, (3) length-of-stay (LOS), and (4) admission costs. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND/BACKGROUND:VO is a serious disease with potentially devastating clinical consequences. At present, there is limited data on the epidemiology of VO in the United States as previous reports are based on older studies with small sample sizes. METHODS:We used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database and estimated that 228,044 patients were admitted for VO in the United States between 1998 and 2013. Data were extracted on patient demographics, comorbidities, inpatient mortality, LOS, and inflation-adjusted hospitalization charges. Multivariable regression analyses were performed. RESULTS:The incidence of VO admission was 4.8 per 100,000, increasing from 8021 cases (2.9/ 100,000) in 1998 to 16,917 cases (5.4/100,000) in 2013. Majority of patients were white (74%), male (51%), younger than 59 years of age (49.5%), and carried Medicare insurance (50%). The increase in incidence for male and females was similar. The mortality rate during hospital stay was 2.1%, decreasing from 2% in 1998 to 1.7% in 2006 and increasing to 2.2% in 2013. Risk factors for mortality included increased age, male sex, and higher comorbidity score. History of congestive heart failure [odds ratio (OR)=2.45], cerebrovascular disease (OR=1.92), liver disease (OR=2.33), hepatitis C (OR=2.36), and renal disease (OR=1.88) was associated with higher mortality rate. Mean LOS was 9.2 days, decreasing from 9.1 days in 1998 to 8.8 days in 2013. The mean estimated hospital charges for admission were $54,599, however, this increased from $24,102 in 1998 (total of $188.8 millions) to $80,786 in 2013 (total of $1.3 billions). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:This condition is associated with lengthy and expensive hospital stays resulting in a significant burden to patients and the health care system.

Recurrent shoulder instability (RSI) and cervical spinal stenosis (CSS) may present with similar clinical symptoms. There is a paucity of data available investigating the incidence of CSS in patients with recurrent shoulder instability. For this reason, we investigated the incidence of CSS in patients with RSI and patient demographics, and compared characteristics of patients with CSS-RSI with those of patients with RSI alone. The Medicare Standard Analytical Files database in the PearlDiver supercomputer (Warsaw, Indiana) was carefully analyzed to identify all patients who had both CSS and RSI from 2007 to 2014. Patients were identified based on the international classification of disease codes (9th ed.). Annual national trends based on age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and geographic location were assessed. We identified 38,073 patients in the database during our study period. There was a significant increase in incidence of CSS in recurrent shoulder instability patients from 6.5% in 2007 to 9.2% in 2014 (p = 0.0027). Patients who were female (p = 0.0018), 65 to 80 years (46.3%; p < 0.0001), and with a BMI of 30-40 kg/m2 (34.1%; p < 0.0001) represented the greatest proportion of concomitant patients. Age less than 80 years was an independent risk factor for coexisting conditions (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.32 to 1.64). In conclusion, the incidence of cervical spinal stenosis is increasing in patients with recurrent shoulder instability. Physicians should maintain high clinical suspicion for concurrent cervical spinal pathology, particularly in obese, young female patients with recurrent instability. Further investigation into the influence of these concurrent pathologies on patient outcomes is warranted.

Spine is one subject evaluated by the Orthopaedic In-Training Examination. The purpose of our study was to analyze all spine-related questions on the OITE to determine the most commonly tested spine topics, as well as the level of evidence in cited references, to help guide resident preparation for future examinations. The OITE was analyzed from 2013 to 2017 for number of spine questions, subject matter, anatomy, and use of diagnostic imaging. The preferred responses were reviewed for journal article references and corresponding levels of evidence for each citation. The average number of spine questions on the OITE was approximately 25 (9.0% of the exam) with a focus on cervical spine (7.8; 31.5%) and lumbar spine (9.8; 39.5%). At least one type of diagnostic image accompanied 18.4 questions (74.2%), with magnetic resonance imaging being the most common modality (50.0%). Degenerative diseases (10.8; 43.5%) and trauma (7.0; 28.2%) made up the majority. The most commonly cited journals were Spine (21.5%), Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (20.8%), Spine Journal (8.4%), and Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (8.4%). Review articles made up an average of 27.4 citations annually (49.5%). Level I evidence investigations were cited 3.4 times per examination. Developing a study plan centered on review articles as well as on high-yield topics should lead to optimal preparation for residents on the OITE.