Surgical techniques for degenerative cervical spine in Finland from 1999 to 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the trends and regional variations in the operative techniques used for degenerative or rheumatoid cervical spine disease in Finland between 1999 and 2015. Methods; The Finnish Hospital Discharge Register (FHDR) was searched for the data on all the primary operations for degenerative cervical spine disease (DCSD) or rheumatoid atlanto-axial subluxation (rAAS). Operative codes were used to identify the patients from the FHDR and combined with diagnosis codes to verify patient inclusion. The patients were classified into three groups: anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF), posterior decompression and fusion (PDF) and decompression. Results: A total of 19,701 primary operations were included. The adjusted incidence of ACDF rose from 6.5 to 27.3 operations/100,000 adults. ACDF became the favoured technique in all the diagnostic groups except AAS, and by 2015, ACDF comprised 84.5% of the operations. The incidence of PDF for DCSD increased from 0.2 to 0.7/100,000 people. Solely decompressive operations declined from 13.7 to 4.0 operations/100,000 people. The regional differences in the incidence of operations were most marked in the incidence of ACDF, with overall incidences ranging from 11.2 to 37.0 operations/100,000. The distribution of the operative techniques used varied as well. Conclusions: Between 1999 and 2015, the operative techniques used for DCSD changed from prevalently decompressive to utilising ACDF in 68.8 to 91.0% of the operations, depending on the treating hospital. ACDF became the most commonly applied technique for all degenerative diagnoses except AAS.</div

Copy number loss in SFMBT1 is common among Finnish and Norwegian patients with iNPH

Objective: To evaluate the role of the copy number loss in SFMBT1 in a Caucasian population.Methods: Five hundred sixty-seven Finnish and 377 Norwegian patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) were genotyped and compared with 508 Finnish elderly, neurologically healthy controls. The copy number loss in intron 2 of SFMBT1 was determined using quantitative PCR.Results: The copy number loss in intron 2 of SFMBT1 was detected in 10% of Finnish (odds ratio [OR] = 1.9, p = 0.0078) and in 21% of Norwegian (OR = 4.7, p Conclusions: This is the largest and the first multinational study reporting the increased prevalence of the copy number loss in intron 2 of SFMBT1 among patients with iNPH, providing further evidence of its role in iNPH. The pathogenic role still remains unclear, requiring further study.</div

Surgical techniques for degenerative cervical spine in Finland from 1999 to 2015

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the trends and regional variations in the operative techniques used for degenerative or rheumatoid cervical spine disease in Finland between 1999 and 2015. Methods: The Finnish Hospital Discharge Register (FHDR) was searched for the data on all the primary operations for degenerative cervical spine disease (DCSD) or rheumatoid atlanto-axial subluxation (rAAS). Operative codes were used to identify the patients from the FHDR and combined with diagnosis codes to verify patient inclusion. The patients were classified into three groups: anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF), posterior decompression and fusion (PDF) and decompression. Results: A total of 19,701 primary operations were included. The adjusted incidence of ACDF rose from 6.5 to 27.3 operations/100,000 adults. ACDF became the favoured technique in all the diagnostic groups except AAS, and by 2015, ACDF comprised 84.5% of the operations. The incidence of PDF for DCSD increased from 0.2 to 0.7/100,000 people. Solely decompressive operations declined from 13.7 to 4.0 operations/100,000 people. The regional differences in the incidence of operations were most marked in the incidence of ACDF, with overall incidences ranging from 11.2 to 37.0 operations/100,000. The distribution of the operative techniques used varied as well. Conclusions: Between 1999 and 2015, the operative techniques used for DCSD changed from prevalently decompressive to utilising ACDF in 68.8 to 91.0% of the operations, depending on the treating hospital. ACDF became the most commonly applied technique for all degenerative diagnoses except AAS

Occurrence, risk factors, and time trends for late reoperations due to degenerative cervical spine disease:a Finnish national register study of 19 377 patients operated on between 1999 and 2015

Abstract Background: Surgery for degenerative cervical spine disease has escalated since the 1990s. Fusion has become the mainstay of surgery despite concerns regarding adjacent segment degeneration. The patient-specific trends in reoperations have not been studied previously. Objective: To analyze the occurrence, risk factors, and trends in reoperations in a long-term follow-up of all the patients operated for degenerative cervical spine disease in Finland between 1999 and 2015. Methods: The patients were retrospectively identified from the Hospital Discharge Registry. Reoperations were traced individually; only reoperations occurring &gt;365 d after the primary operation were included. Time trends in reoperations and the risk factors were analyzed by regression analysis. Results: Of the 19 377 identified patients, 9.2% underwent a late reoperation at a median of 3.6 yr after the primary operation. The annual risk of reoperation was 2.4% at 2 yr, 6.6% at 5 yr, 11.1% at 10 yr, and 14.2% at 15 yr. Seventy-five percent of the late reoperations occurred within 6.5 yr of the primary operation. Foraminal stenosis, the anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF) technique, male gender, weak opiate use, and young age were the most important risk factors for reoperation. There was no increase in the risk of reoperations over the follow-up period. Conclusion: The risk of reoperation was stable between 1999 and 2015. The reoperation risk was highest during the first 6 postoperative years and then declined. Patients with foraminal stenosis had the highest risk of reoperation, especially when ACDF was performed

Business drivers of a collaborative, proactive maintenance solution

The elevated complexity and costs of production assets combined with the requirements for high-quality manufactured products necessitate novel design and condition-based maintenance approaches that are able to provide the required levels of availability, maintainability, quality and safety while decreasing the cost of the system as a whole and throughout the production lifecycle

Endoscopic third ventriculostomy for adults with hydrocephalus:creating a prognostic model for success: protocol for a retrospective multicentre study (Nordic ETV)

Abstract Introduction: Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) is becoming an increasingly widespread treatment for hydrocephalus, but research is primarily based on paediatric populations. In 2009, Kulkarni et al created the ETV Success score to predict the outcome of ETV in children. The purpose of this study is to create a prognostic model to predict the success of ETV for adult patients with hydrocephalus. The ability to predict who will benefit from an ETV will allow better primary patient selection both for ETV and shunting. This would reduce additional second procedures due to primary treatment failure. A success score specific for adults could also be used as a communication tool to provide better information and guidance to patients. Methods and analysis: The study will adhere to the Transparent Reporting of a multivariable prediction model for Individual Prognosis Or Diagnosis reporting guidelines and conducted as a retrospective chart review of all patients≥18 years of age treated with ETV at the participating centres between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2018. Data collection is conducted locally in a standardised database. Univariate analysis will be used to identify several strong predictors to be included in a multivariate logistic regression model. The model will be validated using K-fold cross validation. Discrimination will be assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and calibration with calibration belt plots. Ethics and dissemination: The study is approved by appropriate ethics or patient safety boards in all participating countries