Large prospective validation and cultural adaptation of the Polish version of the Swiss Spinal Stenosis Questionnaire for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis

Objective The aim of this prospective cohort study was to translate, validate and perform a cultural adaptation of the Polish version of the Swiss Spinal Stenosis Questionnaire (P-SSSQ), a disease-specific questionnaire for assessing symptom severity, physical function and satisfaction with treatment in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Material and methods Patients were prospectively recruited at two orthopedic centres in Krakow, Poland, between January 2011 – October 2016. During the interview, each patient completed the P-SSSQ, SF-36 Health Survey, and a demographic data questionnaire. After translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and pilot testing, assessment was made of the internal consistency, test–retest reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness of the P-SSSQ subscales. Results Finally, 171 consecutive patients were included in the study. Cronbach’s alpha and ICC values were above 0.8 for all three subscales of the P-SSSQ. The symptom severity domain was highly negatively correlated with physical functioning and bodily pain of SF-36, with Pearson correlation coefficients of -0.68 and -0.63, respectively. The physical function domain was highly negatively correlated with physical functioning (r = -0.62). The satisfaction subscale was also highly negatively correlated with the change in the symptom severity (r = −0.61) and physical function scale (r = −0.65). Conclusions The proposed version of the P-SSSQ showed excellent measurement properties and can be considered validated for use in Polish. It is easy to understand, quick to complete, and the psychometric properties of the original version are maintained

Aluminum Nanoparticles Affect Human Platelet Function In Vitro

Endoprostheses are prone to tribological wear and biological processes that lead to the release of particles, including aluminum nanoparticles (Al NPs). Those particles can diffuse into circulation. However, the toxic effects of NPs on platelets have not been comprehensively analyzed. The aim of our work was to investigate the impact of Al NPs on human platelet function using a novel quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) methodology. Moreover, a suite of assays, including light transmission aggregometry, flow cytometry, optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, were utilized. All Al NPs caused a significant increase in dissipation (D) and frequency (F), indicating platelet aggregation even at the lowest tested concentration (0.5 µg/mL), except for the largest (80 nm) Al NPs. A size-dependent effect on platelet aggregation was observed for the 5–20 nm NPs and the 30–50 nm NPs, with the larger Al NPs causing smaller increases in D and F; however, this was not observed for the 20–30 nm NPs. In conclusion, our study showed that small (5–50 nm) Al NPs caused platelet aggregation, and larger (80 nm) caused a bridging–penetrating effect in entering platelets, resulting in the formation of heterologous platelet–Al NPs structures. Therefore, physicians should consider monitoring NP serum levels and platelet activation indices in patients with orthopedic implants