Is a Persistent Vacuum Phenomenon a Sign of Pseudarthrosis After Posterolateral Spinal Fusion?

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether the vacuum phenomenon (VP) resolves after posterolateral lumbar fusion, and whether persistence of VP is indicative of failed fusion. We retrospectively reviewed patients with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis with instability with a positive VP on preoperative computed tomography (CT) who underwent posterolateral lumbar spinal fusion. Lumbar CT and radiographs were evaluated for the presence of VP and fusion at each level. Thirty-six positive VP levels were identified on the preoperative lumbar CT at the levels in the fusion in 18 patients. The mean age at surgery was 67.6 ± 9.4 years and mean follow-up was 1.6 ± 0.86 years. Fusion was seen at 32 levels (88.9%). Of the 15 levels where VP persisted, evidence of fusion was seen in 13 levels and pseudarthrosis was seen at 2. Of the 21 levels where VP disappeared, fusion was seen at 19 levels and pseudarthrosis was seen at 2 .There was no significant difference between the 2 groups (P > .05). We did not find an association between persistence of VP and pseudarthrosis. Persistence of VP after spinal fusion may not be an indicator of pseudarthrosis, and should not be misinterpreted as an indication for additional surgery

Sacrectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy for the treatment of sacral chordomas: a single-center experience over 27 years

Retrospective cohort (case only). To evaluate the results and survival determinants of 21 patients with sacral chordomas treated with en bloc resection and adjuvant radiotherapy. There are few long-term studies on treatment of sacral chordomas with more than 20 patients, and factors related to survival are not fully understood. Demographics, treatment, complications, and oncological outcomes were analyzed with summary statistics, hypothesis testing with Mantel-Haenszel-Cox analysis, log-rank test, Cox proportional hazard model, and Kaplan-Meier survival estimates as applicable. There were 12 males and 9 females with mean age of 61 years (16-79) and mean follow-up of 5.8 years (2-19.2). Tumor stage was IB in 20 and IIIB in one; mean tumor size was 10.5 cm. Fourteen patients underwent combined anterior-posterior resection and 7 posterior resection alone; 18 received adjuvant radiotherapy. After treatment, bowel and bladder control were present in 4 and 5 patients, respectively. Complications included: wound infection (4), other wound complications (9), fistula (2), deep vein thrombosis (1), and pulmonary embolism (1). Median survival was 7.2 years. Eight (40%) had local recurrence and 4 (19%) metastatic disease. Mean disease-free interval before recurrence was 2.5 years (1-5). No patient (n = 8) treated in the past 9 years has had local or distant disease. Patients treated for recurrent tumor survived 5.7 years on average (range, 0.8-9) after the first recurrence. The only risk factor for tumor recurrence was proximal tumor extent (P = 0.05) There was a statistically significant association between recurrence and survival (RR = 3.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-15.3; P = 0.04). Despite the complications, increased long-term survival can be achieved with treatment. Proximal tumor extent may be related to recurrence and survival. Recurrence rates have diminished over time, emphasizing the importance of an experienced multidisciplinary surgical team. N/A

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortiu (INICC) report, data summary of 43 countries for 2007-2012. Device-associated module

We report the results of an International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2007-December 2012 in 503 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. During the 6-year study using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) U.S. National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care–associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 605,310 patients hospitalized in the INICC's ICUs for an aggregate of 3,338,396 days. Although device utilization in the INICC's ICUs was similar to that reported from ICUs in the U.S. in the CDC's NHSN, rates of device-associated nosocomial infection were higher in the ICUs of the INICC hospitals: the pooled rate of central line–associated bloodstream infection in the INICC's ICUs, 4.9 per 1,000 central line days, is nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.9 per 1,000 central line days reported from comparable U.S. ICUs. The overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher (16.8 vs 1.1 per 1,000 ventilator days) as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (5.5 vs 1.3 per 1,000 catheter days). Frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (42.8% vs 10%) and imipenem (42.4% vs 26.1%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (71.2% vs 28.8%) and imipenem (19.6% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC's ICUs compared with the ICUs of the CDC's NHSN