OBJECT: Sagittal malalignment of the cervical spine has been associated with worsened postsurgical outcomes. For better operative planning of fusion and alignment restoration, improved knowledge of ideal fusion angles and interdependences between upper and lower cervical spine alignment is needed. Because spinal and spinopelvic parameters might play a role in cervical sagittal alignment, their associations should be studied in depth. METHODS: The authors retrospectively analyzed digital lateral standing cervical radiographs of 145 patients (34 asymptomatic, 74 symptomatic; 37 surgically treated), including full-standing radiographs obtained in 45 of these patients. Sagittal measurements were as follows: C2–7, occiput (Oc)–C2, C1–2 Cobb angles, and C-7 slope (the angle between the horizontal line and the superior endplate of C-7), as well as T4–12 and L1–S1 Cobb angles, sacral slope, pelvic incidence, and C-7 sagittal vertical axis (SVA). A correlation analysis was performed, and linear regression models were developed. RESULTS: Statistical analyses revealed significant correlations between C2–7 and Oc–C2 (r = −0.4, p < 0.01), Oc–C2 (r = −0.3, p < 0.01), and C1–2 angle (r = −0.3, p < 0.01). C-7 slope was significantly correlated with C2–7 (r = −0.5, p < 0.01) and with Oc–C2 angle (r = 0.2, p = 0.02). Total cervical (Oc–C7) lordosis was 30.2° and did not differ significantly among asymptomatic, symptomatic, and surgically treated patients. Correlations between C2–7 and Oc–C2 alignment were stronger in asymptomatic patients (r = –0.5, p < 0.01) and surgically treated patients (r = –0.5, p < 0.01) than in symptomatic patients (r = –0.3, p = 0.01), but the between-group difference was not significant (p > 0.1). Comparing cervical and spinopelvic alignment revealed a significant correlation between sacral slope and C-7 slope (r = –0.3, p = 0.04) and C2–7 (r = 0.4, p < 0.01). The C-7 SVA correlated significantly with the C-7 slope (r = –0.4, p < 0.01). The interdependences were stronger within the occipitocervical parameters than between the cervical and remaining spinal parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Significant correlations between the upper and lower cervical spine exist, confirming the existence of inherent compensatory mechanisms to maintain overall balance; no significant differences were found among asymptomatic, symptomatic, and surgically treated patients. The C-7 slope is a useful marker of overall sagittal alignment, acting as a link between the occipitocervical and thoracolumbar spine.

This study evaluates the long-term survival of spinal implants after surgical site infection (SSI) and the risk factors associated with treatment failure. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was carried out on 43 patients who had undergone a posterior spinal fusion with instrumentation between January 2006 and December 2008, and who consecutively developed an acute deep surgical site infection. All were appropriately treated by surgical debridement with a tailored antibiotic program based on culture results for a minimum of eight weeks. A ‘terminal event’ or failure of treatment was defined as implant removal or death related to the SSI. The mean follow-up was 26 months (1.03 to 50.9). A total of ten patients (23.3%) had a terminal event. The rate of survival after the first debridement was 90.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) 82.95 to 98.24) at six months, 85.4% (95% CI 74.64 to 96.18) at one year, and 73.2% (95% CI 58.70 to 87.78) at two, three and four years. Four of nine patients required re-instrumentation after implant removal, and two of the four had a recurrent infection at the surgical site. There was one recurrence after implant removal without re-instrumentation. Multivariate analysis revealed a significant risk of treatment failure in patients who developed sepsis (hazard ratio (HR) 12.5 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.6 to 59.9); p < 0.001) or who had > three fused segments (HR 4.5 (95% CI 1.25 to 24.05); p = 0.03). Implant survival is seriously compromised even after properly treated surgical site infection, but progressively decreases over the first 24 months. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2013;95-B:1121–6.

OBJECTIVE: Achieving high patient satisfaction with management is often one of the goals after adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery. However, literature on associated factors and their correlations with patient satisfaction is limited. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical and radiographic factors independently correlated with patient satisfaction in terms of management at 2 years after surgery.METHODS: A multicenter prospective database of ASD surgery was retrospectively reviewed. The demographics, complications, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) subdomains, and radiographic parameters were examined to determine their correlation coefficients with the Scoliosis Research Society-22 questionnaire (SRS-22R) satisfaction scores at 2 years (Sat-2y score). Subsequently, factors determined to be independently associated with low satisfaction (Sat-2y score ≤ 4.0) were used to construct 2 types of multivariate models: one with 2-year data and the other with improvement (score at 2 years − score at baseline) data.RESULTS: A total of 422 patients who underwent ASD surgery (mean age 53.1 years) were enrolled. All HRQOL subdomains and several coronal and sagittal radiographic parameters had significantly improved 2 years after surgery. The Sat-2y score was strongly correlated with the SRS-22R self-image (SI)/appearance subdomain (r = 0.64), followed by moderate correlation with subdomains related to standing (r = 0.53), body pain (r = 0.49–0.55), and function (r = 0.41–0.55) at 2 years. Conversely, the correlation between radiographic or demographic parameters with Sat-2y score was weak (r < 0.4). Multivariate analysis to eliminate confounding factors revealed that a worse Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score for standing (≥ 2 points; OR 4.48) and pain intensity (≥ 2 points; OR 2.07), SRS-22R SI/appearance subdomain (< 3 points; OR 2.70) at 2 years, and a greater sagittal vertical axis (SVA) (> 5 cm; OR 2.68) at 2 years were independent related factors for low satisfaction. According to the other model, a lower improvement in ODI for standing (< 30%; OR 2.68), SRS-22R pain (< 50%; OR 3.25) and SI/appearance (< 50%; OR 2.18) subdomains, and an inadequate restoration of the SVA from baseline (< 2 cm; OR 3.16) were associated with low satisfaction.CONCLUSIONS: Self-image, pain, standing difficulty, and sagittal alignment restoration may be useful goals in improving patient satisfaction with management at 2 years after ASD surgery. Surgeons and other medical providers have to take care of these factors to prevent low satisfaction.

A potential relationship between postoperative urinary tract infection (UTI) and surgical site infection (SSI) following posterior spinal fusion and instrumentation (PSFI) was investigated. A retrospective review was performed of prospectively collected demographic, clinical and microbiological data of 466 consecutive patients (median age, 53.7 years (interquartile range (IQR) 33.8–65.6); 58.6% women) undergoing PSFI to identify those with UTI in the first 4 weeks and SSI in the first 12 weeks after PSFI. Overall, 40.8% had an American Society of Anesthesiologists score of >2, and 49.8% had undergone fusion of more than three segments. Eighty-nine patients had UTI, 54 had SSI, and 22 had both conditions. In nine of the 22 (38%) cases, the two infections were caused by the same microorganism. The urinary tract was the probable source of SSI by Gram-negative bacteria in 38% (8/21) of cases. On multivariate analysis, UTI (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.6–6.1; P 0.001) and instrumentation of more than three segments (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.1–6.3; P 0.024) were statistically associated with SSI. Patients receiving ciprofloxacin for UTI had higher microbial resistance rates to fluoroquinolones at SSIs (46.13%) than those without ciprofloxacin (21.9%), although the difference did not reach statistical significance (p 0.1). In our series, UTI was significantly associated with SSI after PSFI. On the basis of our results, we conclude that further efforts to reduce the incidence of postoperative UTI and provide adequate empirical antibiotic therapy that avoids quinolones whenever possible may help to reduce SSI rates and potential microbial resistance.