Clinical and radiological outcomes of dynamic cervical implant arthroplasty:A 5-year follow-up

BACKGROUND Dynamic cervical implant(DCI)stabilization has been reported to have satisfactory clinical and radiological results with short-and mid-term follow-up in the treatment of cervical degenerative disc disease.However,few reports about the clinical and radiological outcome with more than 5-year follow-up exist.AIM To investigate the long-term clinical and radiological results of DCI arthroplasty.METHODS A total of 40 patients who received DCI arthroplasty were consecutively reviewed from May 2010 to August 2015.Visual analogue scale(VAS),neck disability index(NDI)score,Japanese Orthopaedic Association(JOA)score,and SF-36 items were used to assess neural function rehabilitation.Static and dynamic radiographs and 3-dimentional computed tomography were used to evaluate the radiological outcomes.RESULTS The scores of neck/arm VAS,NDI,JOA,and 8-dimensions of SF-36 were significantly improved at the 1-mo follow-up(P<0.05)and maintained until the last follow-up(P<0.05).The range of motion(ROM)of C2-C7,functional spinal unit(FSU),upper/lower adjacent level,C2-C7 lateral bending,and FSU lateral bending decreased at the 1-mo follow-up(P<0.05),whereas they increased to the preoperative level at the later follow-up intervals(P>0.05),except the ROM of FSU lateral bending(P<0.05).The C2-C7 alignment and FSU angle kept more lordotic at the last follow-up(P<0.05).The intervertebral height increased significantly at the 1-mo follow-up(P<0.05)and decreased at later follow-ups(P>0.05).At the last follow-up,12(26.1%)segments developed heterotopic ossification.CONCLUSION DCI arthroplasty is a safe and effective non-fusion technique to treat cervical degenerative disc disease in long-term follow-up.

Does progress in microfracture techniques necessarily translate into clinical effectiveness?

BACKGROUND Multitudinous advancements have been made to the traditional microfracture(MFx)technique,which have involved delivery of various acellular 2nd generation MFx and cellular MFx-III components to the area of cartilage defect.The relative benefits and pitfalls of these diverse modifications of MFx technique are still not widely understood.AIM To comparatively analyze the functional,radiological,and histological outcomes,and complications of various generations of MFx available for the treatment of cartilage defects.METHODS A systematic review was performed using PubMed,EMBASE,Web of Science,Cochrane,and Scopus.Patients of any age and sex with cartilage defects undergoing any form of MFx were considered for analysis.We included only randomized controlled trials(RCTs)reporting functional,radiological,histological outcomes or complications of various generations of MFx for the management of cartilage defects.Network meta-analysis(NMA)was conducted in Stata and Cochrane’s Confidence in NMA approach was utilized for appraisal of evidence.RESULTS Forty-four RCTs were included in the analysis with patients of mean age of 39.40(±9.46)years.Upon comparing the results of the other generations with MFX-I as a constant comparator,we noted a trend towards better pain control and functional outcome(KOOS,IKDC,and Cincinnati scores)at the end of 1-,2-,and 5-year time points with MFx-III,although the differences were not statistically significant(P>0.05).We also noted statistically significant Magnetic resonance observation of cartilage repair tissue score in the higher generations of microfracture(weighted mean difference:17.44,95%confidence interval:0.72,34.16,P=0.025;without significant heterogeneity)at 1 year.However,the difference was not maintained at 2 years.There was a trend towards better defect filling on MRI with the second and third generation MFx,although the difference was not statistically significant(P>0.05).CONCLUSION The higher generations of traditional MFx technique utilizing acellular and cellular components to augment its potential in the management of cartilage defects has shown only marginal improvement in the clinical and radiological outcomes.

Combined anterior and posterior ring fixation versus posterior ring fixation alone in the management of unstable Tile B and C pelvic ring injuries:A randomized controlled trial

Purpose: Combined anterior and posterior ring (APR) fixation is classically performed in Tile B2 and C1 injuries to achieve superior biomechanical stability.However,the posterior ring (PR) is the main weight bearing portion that is responsible for weight transmission from the upper parts of the body to the lower limbs through the sacrum and the linea terminalis.It is hypothesized that isolated PR fixation can achieve comparable radiological and clinical outcomes to APR fixation.Therefore,we conducted this study to compare the two fixation principles in managing Tile B2 and C1 injuries.Methods: Our study included 20 patients with Tile B2 injuries and 20 patients with Tile C1 injuries.This study was a randomized control single-blinded study via computerized random numbers with a 1:1 allocation by using random block method.The study was performed at a level one trauma center.A total of 40 patients with Tile B2 and C1 injuries underwent combined APR or isolated PR fixation (Group A and B,respectively).Matta & Tornetta radiological principles and Majeed pelvic scoring system were used for the assessment of primary outcomes and postoperative complications.Secondary outcomes included operative time,amount of blood loss,intraoperative assessment of reduction,need of another operation,length of hospital stay,ability to weight bear postoperatively and pain control metrics.We used studentt-test to compare the difference in means between two groups,and Chi-square test to compare proportions between two qualitative parameters.We set the confidence interval to 95% and the margin of error accepted to 5%.So,p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The mean follow-up duration was 18 months.The operative time (mean difference 0.575 h) and the intraoperative blood loss (mean difference 97.5 mL) were lower in Group B.Also,despite the higher frequency of rami displacement before union in the same group,there were no significant differences in terms of radiological outcome (excellent outcome withOR = 2.357),clinical outcome (excellent outcome withOR = 2.852) and postoperative complications assessment (OR = 1.556) at last follow-up.Conclusion: The authors concluded that isolated PR fixation could favorably manage Tile B2 and C1 pelvic ring injuries with Nakatani zone II pubic rami fractures and intact inguinal ligament.Its final radiological and clinical outcomes and postoperative complications were comparable to combined APR fixation,but with less morbidity (shorter operation time,lower amount of blood,and no records of postoperative wound infection).