Study Design. The incidence and risk factors of postoperative delirium were retrospectively examined in patients who had spine surgery for degenerative lumbar disease. Objective. The aim of this study is to examine the incidence, pre- and postoperative risk factors and clinical results of postoperative delirium after spine surgery. Summary of Background Data. Postoperative delirium is of great concern in older patients. Patients with postoperative delirium tend to have delay in functional restoration and difficulty in postoperative care. But to author's knowledge this is the first report to postoperative delirium after spine surgery in South Korean population. Methods. Eighty-one patients over 70 years of age, who underwent spinal fusion for degenerative lumbar disease from November 2000 and March 2007 were selected. We analyzed the relation between postoperative delirium and such variables as operation time, intraoperative blood loss and transfusion, fusion level, comorbidity and laboratory data checked before surgery and at 1 day after surgery. Results. Postoperative delirium was found in 11 patients (13.6%). There were significant relationships between postoperative delirium and comorbidity such as cerebral vascular disease and gastric ulcer. Hemoglobin and hematocrit levels at 1 day after surgery and albumin level before surgery was significantly lower than in control group. Oswestry disability index was improved from 50.4% to 27.6% in delirium group and from 48.5% to 24.9% in control group. Hospitalization period was significantly longer in delirium group. Conclusion. History of cerebral vascular disease, low hemoglobin and hematocrit levels at 1 day after surgery, and bad nutritional status were risk factors for delirium. As it is of great concern in older patients, careful observation is necessary for the management of patients with risk factors for delirium.
The aims of this prospective study were to determine the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a population of young male military conscripts who experienced an extremity long-bone fracture, and to evaluate whether injury-related variables are associated with the development of PTSD. Prospective, nonrandomized comparative study. Level 1 trauma center. A total of 148 men (age older than 18 years) who had 1 or more acute long-bone extremity fractures within 12 months and were seen at the Seoul Regional Military Manpower Center for examination of military conscripts from March 2013 to March 2014, were enrolled. The Korean version of the posttraumatic disorder scale was used to identify aspects of PTSD. The injury-related variables assessed included injury mechanism, fracture location and multiplicity, fracture severity, and the occurrence of joint ankylosis and secondary osteoarthritis. Of the 148 participants, 40 (27.0%) met the criteria for the diagnosis of PTSD. Multivariate logistic linear analysis confirmed that lower extremity fracture, multiple fractures, and a higher pain visual analog scale score were significantly (P = 0.042, P = 0.043 and P < 0.001, respectively) related to the occurrence of PTSD. Lower extremity fracture, multiple extremity fractures, and higher pain visual analog scale scores were significantly related to the occurrence of PTSD. To achieve an optimal recovery after orthopaedic injury, clinicians must address both physical and psychologic needs of their patients. Prognostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Retrospective case-control study. A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed by comparing patients who received extension revision operations for adjacent segment disease (ASD) reusing the pedicle screws extracted from fused segments with patients who received conventional surgery. ASD often required extension revision surgery, and during extension surgery, pedicle screws may be reused by extracting from the fused segments of primary surgery. Study examined 37 patients who received extension revision surgery for ASD from January 2003 to December 2013. For the fixation of extended segments during revision operation, in 16 cases the pedicle screws extracted from fused segments were reused (group R), and in 21 cases new pedicle screws were used (group C) as a conventional method. Clinical outcomes were evaluated by means of visual analog scale scores for lumbago and leg pain, and the Korean Oswestry Disability Index. Radiologic outcomes were evaluated from the extent of bone union. The total operating costs in the two groups were compared. Visual analog scale scores for lumbago and leg pain, and the Korean Oswestry Disability Index measured at final follow-up averaged 3.6 and 3.8, and 19.9 in group R, and 3.8 and 3.1, and 21.1 in group C, respectively (P = 0.280, P = 0.387, P = 0.751). For radiologic outcomes, there was one case of nonunion in each group. The cost of surgery was 5332 US dollars in group R, and 6109 US dollars in group C, respectively (P = 0.036). Reusing pedicle screws extracted from the fused segments during extension revision operation for ASD can reduce the cost of surgery, and achieves clinical and radiological results similar to those of the conventional operation. 4.