Telemedicine for the Spine Surgeon in the Age of COVID-19: Multicenter Experiences of Feasibility and Implementation Strategies.

STUDY DESIGN: Multicenter study. OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has obligated physicians to recur to additional resources and make drastic changes regarding the standard physician-patient encounter. In the last century, there has been a substantial improvement in technology, which over the years has opened the door to a new form of medical practicing known as telemedicine. METHODS: Healthcare workers from three hospitals involved in the care for COVID-19 patients in the united states were invited to share their experience using telemedicine to deliver clinical care to their patients. RESULTS: Since the appearance of this worldwide outbreak, social distancing has been a key factor in preventing the spread of the virus, for which measures have been taken to limit physical contact. Because of the ongoing situation, telemedicine has been progressively incorporated into the physician-patient encounters and quickly has become an essential component in the day-today medical practice. CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to deliver viable spine practice with the use of telemedicine. A proper patient selection of patients requiring virtual treatment versus those requiring in-person visits should be considered

Do Intraoperative Radiographs in Scoliosis Surgery Reflect Radiographic Result?

It is often difficult to predict postoperative radiographic curve magnitude and balance parameters while performing intraoperative correction during scoliosis surgery. We asked whether there was a radiographic correlation between intraoperative long-cassette scoliosis film and postoperative standing radiographs of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis with pedicle screw instrumentation. We retrospectively reviewed 44 patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis who underwent posterior instrumentation with pedicle screws. We made preoperative, intraoperative (after instrumentation and correction), and standing postoperative radiographic measurements (eg, curve magnitudes, coronal and sagittal balance, disc angles) and compared those for the intra- and postoperative radiographs. The intraoperative long-cassette scoliosis film correlated with the immediate postoperative standing film for all curve correction and balance parameters. The routine use of a long-cassette intraoperative scoliosis film provides the surgeon with a valuable tool to guide intraoperative decision-making and foreshadows the correction and balance obtained on the immediate postoperative film

Effects of benefit finding, social support and caregiving on youth adjustment in a parental illness context

Social support and benefit finding are two related processes that may protect youth from the adverse effects of caring for an ill parent. The primary purpose of this study was to test a mediational model proposal that benefit finding mediates the effects of social support and caregiving on youth adjustment in the context of parental illness. Given the dearth of research on benefit finding in the youth caregiving field, an additional aim was to further clarify the benefit finding construct in the parental illness context. A total of 428 Australian youth (mean age 12.77 years) who had a parent with a serious health problem completed a questionnaire. Exploration of the benefit finding construct showed that it was unidimensional, relevant to youth caregivers, unrelated to measured demographics, but highly linked to caregiving demands and engagement. Results from path modelling analysis supported the mediational model proposal that benefit finding mediates the effects of social support and caregiving on youth adjustment. While caregiving responsibilities in general has a detrimental effect on adjustment, a small counter-balancing indirect effect was detected via the role of increased benefit finding due to caregiving responsibilities. Most of the benefit finding research in youth has been conducted in the context of trauma, where parental support is a significant protective factor. This study makes an important contribution to understanding benefit finding and social support processes in the context of a chronic stressor where one of the usual sources (parents) of significant coping support is limited