Minimally Invasive Techniques for Iliac Bolt Placement: 2-Dimensional Operative Video

As the popularity of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) continues to grow, novel techniques are needed to meet the demands of multi-segment fixation for advanced spinal diseases. In one such example, iliac bolts are often required to anchor large fusion constructs, but MIS technical notes are missing from the literature. A 67-yr-old female presented with a symptomatic coronal deformity: preoperative pelvic incidence = 47°, pelvic tilt = 19°, and lumbar lordosis = 29°, sagittal vertical axis = +5.4 cm with 30° of scoliosis. The operative plan included T10-ilium fusion with transforaminal interbody grafts at L2-3, L3-4, L4-5, and L5-S1. The intraoperative video is of minimally invasive placement of iliac bolts using the O-Arm Surgical Imaging System (Medtronic®). The patient consented to the procedure. A mini-open exposure that remains above the fascial planes allows for multilevel instrumentation with appropriate decompression at the interbody segments. After the placement of the pedicle screws under image-guidance, the direction is turned to the minimally invasive iliac bolts. Following the trajectory described in the standard open approach,1 the posterior superior iliac spine (PSIS) is identified with the navigation probe, which will guide the Bovie cautery through the fascia. This opening assists in the trajectory of the navigated-awl tap toward the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS). Next, 8.5 mm x 90 mm iliac screws were placed in the cannulated bone under navigation. After intraoperative image confirmation of screw placement, the contoured rods are threaded under the fascia. The setscrews lock the rod in position. MIS approaches obviate cross-linking the rods, rendering pelvic fixation more facile. This technique allows for minimal dissection of the posterior pelvic soft tissue while maintaining adequate fixation

Trends in the Abscopal Effect After Radiation to Spinal Metastases: A Systematic Review

Introduction: While the abscopal effect has been previously described, the phenomenon has been poorly defined with spinal metastases. This article presents the first systematic review of the abscopal effect after radiation therapy to metastatic spinal cancer, especially since the spinal column represents one of the most common metastatic locations. Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines [Figure 1] in the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) resources, a systematic review identified relevant studies via a computer-aided search of MEDLINE and Embase. Ten publications that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria from the PRISMA flow diagram described a total of thirteen patients. Results: Two patients in two separate articles observed the abscopal effect following radiation therapy alone to the spine. The remaining eight articles commented on the abscopal effect in the setting of both systemic and radiation therapy. Conclusion: Important findings in this review of spinal metastases include (1) abscopal effect is more commonly observed when systemic therapy includes immunomodulators; (2) abscopal effect has a higher likelihood of success when immunomodulators are administered in conjunction with or after radiation therapy to the spine; (3) higher doses of radiation in a smaller number of fractions likely increase the abscopal success; and (4) ionizing radiation to the bone marrow of the spinal column may increase circulating lymphocytes that attack cancerous lesions elsewhere in the body. These trends, however, still require further investigation with experimental and clinical studies

Patient navigation in epilepsy care

The concept of patient navigation was first introduced in 1989 by the American Cancer Society and was first implemented in 1990 by Dr. Harold Freeman in Harlem, NY. The role of a patient navigator (PN) is to coordinate care between the care team, the patient, and their family while also providing social support. In the last 30 years, patient navigation in oncological care has expanded internationally and has been shown to significantly improve patient care experience, especially in the United States cancer care system. Like oncology care, patients who require epilepsy care face socioeconomic and healthcare system barriers and are at significant risk of morbidity and mortality if their care needs are not met. Although shortcomings in epilepsy care are longstanding, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these issues as both patients and providers have reported significant delays in care secondary to the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, preliminary studies had shown the potential efficacy of patient navigation in improving epilepsy care. Considering the evidence that such programs are helpful for severely disadvantaged cancer patients and in enhancing epilepsy care, we believe that professional societies should support and encourage PN programs for coordinated and comprehensive care for patients with epilepsy

Morphometrics predicts overall survival in patients with multiple myeloma spine metastasis: A retrospective cohort study

Background: Treatment strategies for spinal metastases for myeloma range from conservative measures (radiation and chemotherapy) to invasive (surgical). Identifying better predictors of overall survival (OS) would help in surgical decision making. Analytic morphometrics has been shown to predict survival in oncologic patients, and our study evaluates whether morphometrics is predictive of survival in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) spinal metastases. Methods: For this observational retrospective cohort study, we identified 46 patients with MM spinal metastases who had undergone stereotactic body radiation therapy. OS was the primary outcome measure. Morphometric analysis of the psoas muscle was performed using computed tomography scans of the lumbar spine. Results: OS was statistically correlated with age ( Conclusions: Morphometric analysis successfully predicts long-term survival in patients with MM. More research is needed to validate these results and to see if these methodologies can be applied to other cancer histologies

Morphometrics predicts overall survival in patients with multiple myeloma spine metastasis: A retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Treatment strategies for spinal metastases for myeloma range from conservative measures (radiation and chemotherapy) to invasive (surgical). Identifying better predictors of overall survival (OS) would help in surgical decision making. Analytic morphometrics has been shown to predict survival in oncologic patients, and our study evaluates whether morphometrics is predictive of survival in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) spinal metastases. METHODS: For this observational retrospective cohort study, we identified 46 patients with MM spinal metastases who had undergone stereotactic body radiation therapy. OS was the primary outcome measure. Morphometric analysis of the psoas muscle was performed using computed tomography scans of the lumbar spine. RESULTS: OS was statistically correlated with age (P = 0.025), tumor burden (P = 0.023), and number of levels radiated (P = 0.029), but not with gender. Patients in the lowest tertile of average psoas size had significantly shorter survival compared to the highest tertile, hazard ratio (HZ) 6.87 (95% CI = 1.65-28.5, P = 0.008). When calculating the psoas size to vertebral body ratio and correlating this measure to OS, the lowest tertile again had significantly shorter OS compared to the highest tertile, HZ 6.87 (95% CI = 1.57-29.89, P = 0.010); the middle tertile also showed significantly shorter OS compared to the highest tertile, HZ 5.07 (95% CI = 1.34-19.10, P = 0.016). Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to visually illustrate the differences in survival between different tertiles (Log-rank test P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: Morphometric analysis successfully predicts long-term survival in patients with MM. More research is needed to validate these results and to see if these methodologies can be applied to other cancer histologies

A Matched Cohort Analysis of Drain Usage in Elective Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: A Michigan Spine Surgery Improvement Collaborative (MSSIC) Study

STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective, cohort analysis of multi-institutional database. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to analyze the impact of drain use following elective anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) surgeries. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: After ACDF, a drain is often placed to prevent postoperative hematoma. However, there has been no high quality evidence to support its use with ACDF despite the theoretical benefits and risks of drain placement. METHODS: The Michigan Spine Surgery Improvement Collaborative database was queried to identify all patients undergoing elective ACDF between February 2014 and October 2019. Cases were divided into two cohorts based on drain use. Propensity-score matching was utilized to adjust for inherent differences between the two cohorts. Measured outcomes included surgical site hematoma, length of stay, surgical site infection, dysphagia, home discharge, readmission within 30 days, and unplanned reoperation. RESULTS: We identified 7943 patients during the study period. Propensity-score matching yielded 3206 pairs. On univariate analysis of matched cohorts, there were no differences in rate of postoperative hematoma requiring either return to OR or readmission. We noted patients with drains had a higher rate of dysphagia (4.6% vs. 6.3%; P = 0.003) and had longer hospital stay (P \u3c 0.001). On multivariate analysis, drain use was associated with significantly increased length of stay (relative risk 1.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13-1.34; P \u3c 0.001). There were no significant differences in other outcomes measured. CONCLUSION: Our analysis demonstrated that drain use is associated with significant longer hospital stay.Level of Evidence: 3

Dynamical suppression of decoherence in two-state quantum systems

The dynamics of a decohering two-level system driven by a suitable control Hamiltonian is studied. The control procedure is implemented as a sequence of radiofrequency pulses that repetitively flip the state of the system, a technique that can be termed quantum "bang-bang" control after its classical analog. Decoherence introduced by the system's interaction with a quantum environment is shown to be washed out completely in the limit of continuous flipping and greatly suppressed provided the interval between the pulses is made comparable to the correlation time of the environment. The model suggests a strategy to fight against decoherence that complements existing quantum error-correction techniques.Comment: 15 pages, RevTeX style, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

An optimal control theory approach to non-pharmaceutical interventions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) are the first line of defense against pandemic influenza. These interventions dampen virus spread by reducing contact between infected and susceptible persons. Because they curtail essential societal activities, they must be applied judiciously. Optimal control theory is an approach for modeling and balancing competing objectives such as epidemic spread and NPI cost.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We apply optimal control on an epidemiologic compartmental model to develop triggers for NPI implementation. The objective is to minimize expected person-days lost from influenza related deaths and NPI implementations for the model. We perform a multivariate sensitivity analysis based on Latin Hypercube Sampling to study the effects of input parameters on the optimal control policy. Additional studies investigated the effects of departures from the modeling assumptions, including exponential terminal time and linear NPI implementation cost.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An optimal policy is derived for the control model using a linear NPI implementation cost. Linear cost leads to a "bang-bang" policy in which NPIs are applied at maximum strength when certain state criteria are met. Multivariate sensitivity analyses are presented which indicate that NPI cost, death rate, and recovery rate are influential in determining the policy structure. Further death rate, basic reproductive number and recovery rate are the most influential in determining the expected cumulative death. When applying the NPI policy, the cumulative deaths under exponential and gamma terminal times are close, which implies that the outcome of applying the "bang-bang" policy is insensitive to the exponential assumption. Quadratic cost leads to a multi-level policy in which NPIs are applied at varying strength levels, again based on certain state criteria. Results indicate that linear cost leads to more costly implementation resulting in fewer deaths.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The application of optimal control theory can provide valuable insight to developing effective control strategies for pandemic. Our findings highlight the importance of establishing a sensitive and timely surveillance system for pandemic preparedness.</p

Brain Research to Ameliorate Impaired Neurodevelopment - Home-based Intervention Trial (BRAIN-HIT)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effects of an early developmental intervention program on the development of young children in low- and low-middle-income countries who are at risk for neurodevelopmental disability because of birth asphyxia. A group of children without perinatal complications are evaluated in the same protocol to compare the effects of early developmental intervention in healthy infants in the same communities. Birth asphyxia is the leading specific cause of neonatal mortality in low- and low-middle-income countries and is also the main cause of neonatal and long-term morbidity including mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Mortality and morbidity from birth asphyxia disproportionately affect more infants in low- and low-middle-income countries, particularly those from the lowest socioeconomic groups. There is evidence that relatively inexpensive programs of early developmental intervention, delivered during home visit by parent trainers, are capable of improving neurodevelopment in infants following brain insult due to birth asphyxia.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This trial is a block-randomized controlled trial that has enrolled 174 children with birth asphyxia and 257 without perinatal complications, comparing early developmental intervention plus health and safety counseling to the control intervention receiving health and safety counseling only, in sites in India, Pakistan, and Zambia. The interventions are delivered in home visits every two weeks by parent trainers from 2 weeks after birth until age 36 months. The primary outcome of the trial is cognitive development, and secondary outcomes include social-emotional and motor development. Child, parent, and family characteristics and number of home visits completed are evaluated as moderating factors.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The trial is supervised by a trial steering committee, and an independent data monitoring committee monitors the trial. Findings from this trial have the potential to inform about strategies for reducing neurodevelopmental disabilities in at-risk young children in low and middle income countries.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00639184</p