Purpose In acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) patients, we sought to characterize how objective MRI measures of injury change during the first 3 week post-injury. Methods Six MRI scans each were planned in 19 cervical SCI patients within the first 3 week post-injury. Length of cord edema, maximum spinal cord compression, maximum canal compromise, and presence and length of hematoma were measured. Results Length of spinal cord edema increased in the first 48 h after SCI, followed by a gradual decrease in the 3 weeks after injury. This was predominantly seen in the more severe grades of SCI. Hematoma in the spinal cord was seen in all AIS-A and B patients. Conclusion This study demonstrates the dynamic nature of imaging changes on MRI in the first weeks after injury and highlights the importance of taking into account the timing of imaging when interpreting objective measures of damage.

Study Design: Systematic review. Objective: Spinal orthoses have been generally used in the management of osteoporotic vertebral fractures in the elderly population with purported positive biomechanical and functional effects. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review of the literature examining the role of spinal orthoses in osteoporotic elderly patients who sustain low energy trauma vertebral fractures. Methods: A systematic literature review adherent to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was conducted. Methodical searches utilizing MEDLINE, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Databases was performed. Results: Of the 2019 articles initially retrieved, 7 published articles (4 randomized controlled trials and 3 prospective cohort studies) satisfied the inclusion criteria. Five studies reported improvement in quantitative measurements of spinal column stability when either a rigid or semirigid orthosis was used, while 1 study was equivocal. The studies also showed the translation of biomechanical benefit into significant functional improvement as manifested by improved postural stability and reduced body sway. Subjective improvement in pain scores and quality of life was also noted with bracing. Conclusion: The use of spinal orthoses in neurologically intact elderly patients aged 60 years and older with osteoporotic compression vertebral fractures results in improved biomechanical vertebral stability, reduced kyphotic deformity, enhanced postural stability, greater muscular strength and superior functional outcomes.

Study Design: Systematic review. Objectives: Management of stable traumatic thoracolumbar burst fractures in neurologically-intact patients remains controversial. Conservative management fails in a subset of patients who require subsequent surgical fixation. The aim of this review is to (1) determine the rate of conservative management failure, and (2) analyze predictive factors at admission influencing conservative management failure. Methods: A systematic review adhering to PRISMA guidelines was performed. Studies with data pertaining to traumatic thoracolumbar burst fractures without posterior osteoligamentous injury (e.g. AO Type A3/A4) and/or the rate and predictive factors of conservative management failure were included. Risk of bias appraisal was performed. Pooled analysis of rates of failure was performed with qualitative analysis of predictors of conservative management failure. Results: 16 articles were included in this review (11 pertaining to rate of conservative management failure, 5 pertaining to predictive risk factors). Rate of failure of conservative management from a pooled analysis of 601 patients is 9.2% (95% CI: 4.5%-13.9%). Admission factors predictive of conservative management failure include age, greater initial kyphotic angle, greater initial interpedicular distance, smaller initial residual canal size, greater Load Sharing Classification (LSC) score and greater admission Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain scores. Conclusion: A proportion (9.2%) of conservatively managed, neurologically-intact thoracolumbar burst fractures fail conservative management. Among other factors, age, kyphotic angle, residual canal area and interpedicular distance should be investigated in prospective studies to identify the subset of patients prone to failure of conservative management. Surgical management should be carefully considered in patients with the above risk factors.

Survival prediction models for patients with spinal metastases may inform patients and clinicians in shared decision-making. To externally validate all existing survival prediction models for patients with spinal metastases. Prospective cohort study using retrospective data. A total of 953 patients. Survival in months, area under the curve (AUC), and calibration intercept and slope. This study included patients with spinal metastases referred to a single tertiary referral center between 2016 and 2021. Twelve models for predicting 3, 6, and 12-month survival were externally validated Bollen, Mizumoto, Modified Bauer, New England Spinal Metastasis Score, Original Bauer, Oswestry Spinal Risk Index (OSRI), PathFx, Revised Katagiri, Revised Tokuhashi, Skeletal Oncology Research Group Machine Learning Algorithm (SORG-MLA), Tomita, and Van der Linden. Discrimination was assessed using (AUC) and calibration using the intercept and slope. Calibration was considered appropriate if calibration measures were close to their ideal values with narrow confidence intervals. In total, 953 patients were included. Survival was 76.4% at 3 months (728/953), 62.2% at 6 months (593/953), and 50.3% at 12 months (479/953). Revised Katagiri yielded AUCs of 0.79 (95% CI, 0.76-0.82) to 0.81 (95% CI, 0.79-0.84), Bollen yielded AUCs of 0.76 (95% CI, 0.73-0.80) to 0.77 (95% CI, 0.75-0.80), and OSRI yielded AUCs of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.72-0.78) to 0.77 (95% CI, 0.74-0.79). The other 9 prediction models yielded AUCs ranging from 0.59 (95% CI, 0.55-0.63) to 0.76 (95% CI, 0.74-0.79). None of the 12 models yielded appropriate calibration. Twelve survival prediction models for patients with spinal metastases yielded poor to fair discrimination and poor calibration. Survival prediction models may inform decision-making in patients with spinal metastases, provided that recalibration using recent patient data is performed.

Purpose (main purposes and research question): The purpose of this study is to assess the accuracy and precision of the smartphone with application and casing (Scolioscreen) compared to the Scoliometer. Methods: The Axial Trunk Rotation (ATR) was measured in adolescent scoliosis patients visiting the outpatient clinic while performing the Adam Forward Bending Test. The Scolioscreen measurements were performed by the orthopedic surgeon and a parent. They were compared to the measurement with the Scoliometer by the orthopedic surgeon, the gold standard. The accuracy was determined with the Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and precision was determined by assessing the intra- and inter-variability with the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: Fifty patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (44 girls) were included with a mean age of 14.1 years and a mean Cobb angle of 38.5°. The accuracy of both the parents and orthopedic surgeon was excellent with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.92 and 0.97, respectively. All the ICC’s, both intra- and inter-observer, were over 0.92 demonstrating excellent precision. Conclusion: This study confirms the accuracy and precision of the Scolioscreen when measuring the ATR on patients with AIS. Therefore, the Scoliometer can be replaced by the more easily available Scolioscreen which can be used by both physician and parents.