With significant advances in the research and application of nerve conduits, they have been used to repair peripheral nerve injury for several decades. Nerve conduits range from biological tubes to synthetic tubes, and from nondegradable tubes to biodegradable tubes. Researchers have explored hollow tubes, tubes filled with scaffolds containing neurotrophic factors, and those seeded with Schwann cells or stem cells. The therapeutic effect of nerve conduits is improving with increasing choice of conduit material, new construction of conduits, and the inclusion of neurotrophic factors and support cells in the conduits. Improvements in functional outcomes are expected when these are optimized for use in clinical practice.

Giant cell tumor of bone (GCTB) accounts for 5% of primary skeletal tumors. Although it is considered to be a benign lesion, there are still incidences of pulmonary metastasis. Pulmonary metastasis of GCTB may be affected by tumor grading and localization as well as the age, gender and overall health status of the patient. Patients with local recurrence are more likely to develop pulmonary metastasis of GCTB. High expression of some genes, cytokines and chemokines may also be closely related to the metastatic potential and prognosis of GCTB. The treatment of the primary GCTB is key to the final outcome of the disease, as intralesional curettage has a significantly higher local recurrence and pulmonary metastasis rate than wide resection. However, even patients with pulmonary metastasis seem to have a good prognosis after timely and appropriate surgical resection. It is hoped that with the development of novel surgical methods and drugs, pulmonary metastasis of GCTB can be prevented and treated more effectively.

OBJECTIVEThe authors investigated the relation between Hounsfield unit (HU) values measured on CT and the risk of pedicle screw loosening in patients who underwent lumbar pedicle screw fixation for degenerative lumbar spine disease.METHODSPatients who were treated with lumbar pedicle screw fixation between July 2011 and December 2015 at the authors’ department were reviewed. Age, sex, BMI, smoking and diabetes histories, range of fixation, and fusion method were recorded as the basic patient information. The HU values for lumbar bone mineral density (BMD) for the L1, L2, L3, and L4 vertebra were measured on CT scans. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent influencing factors of pedicle screw loosening.RESULTSA total of 503 patients were included in the final analysis. The pedicle screw loosening rate at the 12-month follow-up was 30.0% (151 of 503 patients). There were no significant differences in sex, BMI, or histories of smoking and diabetes between the patients with (loosening group) and those without (nonloosening group) screw loosening (p > 0.05). The mean HU value of L1–4 was lower in the loosening group than the nonloosening group (106.3 ± 33.9 vs 132.6 ± 42.9, p < 0.001). In logistic regression analysis, being male (OR 2.065; 95% CI 1.242–3.433), HU value (OR 0.977; 95% CI 0.970–0.985), length of fixation (OR 3.616; 95% CI 2.617–4.996), and fixation to S1 (OR 1.699; 95% CI 1.039–2.777) were the independent influencing factors for screw loosening.CONCLUSIONSHU value measured on CT was an independent predictor for pedicle screw loosening, and lower HU value was significantly correlated with higher risk of screw loosening.

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BackgroundSpinal brucellosis is a less commonly reported infectious spinal pathology. There are few reports regarding the surgical treatment of spinal brucellosis in existing literature. This retrospective study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of single-stage transforaminal decompression, debridement, interbody fusion, and posterior instrumentation for lumbosacral spinal brucellosis.MethodsFrom February 2012 to April 2015, 32 consecutive patients (19 males and 13 females, mean age 53.7 ± 8.7) with lumbosacral brucellosis treated by transforaminal decompression, debridement, interbody fusion, and posterior instrumentation were enrolled. Medical records, imaging studies, laboratory data were collected and summarized. Surgical outcomes were evaluated based on visual analogue scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scale. The changes in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), clinical symptoms and complications were investigated. Graft fusion was evaluated using Bridwell grading criteria.ResultsThe mean follow-up period was 24.9 ± 8.2 months. Back pain and radiating leg pain was relieved significantly in all patients after operation. No implant failures were observed in any patients. Wound infection was observed in two patients and sinus formation was observed in one patient. Solid bony fusion was achieved in 30 patients and the fusion rate was 93.8%. The levels of ESR and CRP were returned to normal by the end of three months’ follow-up. VAS and ODI scores were significantly improved (P < 0.05). According to JOA score, surgical improvement was excellent in 22 cases (68.8%), good in 9 cases (28.1%), moderate in 1 case (3.1%) at the last follow-up.ConclusionsSingle-stage transforaminal decompression, debridement, interbody fusion, and posterior instrumentation is an effective and safe approach for lumbosacral brucellosis.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Halo-pelvic ring traction in the treatment of severe kyphotic deformity secondary to spinal tuberculosis.Eighty patients with severe kyphotic deformity due to spinal tuberculosis were included in the study. Forty of those patients (experimental group) received Halo- pelvic ring traction before surgery and the rest (control group) received surgical treatment directly. Two groups were compared by means of the duration of surgery, intraoperative blood loss, correction of Cobb angle, change in patient height, and American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment scale.Halo-pelvic traction group achieved significantly (P < .05) better results than direct surgical treatment group by means of the time of surgery (244 ± 58 minutes vs 276 ± 47 minutes, P = .036), intraoperative blood loss (950 ± 236 mL 1150 ± 305 mL, P = .018), correction of Cobb angle (68.3 ± 12.6 vs 55.6 ± 13.8, P = .001), change in patient height (9.4 ± 4.0 cm vs 6.8 ± 3.8 cm, P = .024). The mean improvement of ASIA scale was more in the experimental group than in the control group (0.23 ± 0.07 vs 0.15 ± 0.06); however, the difference is not statistically significant (P = .09).Halo-pelvic ring traction before osteotomy can be applied in patients with severe spinal kyphotic deformity due to spinal tuberculosis to increase efficacy and safety of surgical treatment.

ObjectiveA retrospective study to determine the relationships between platelet parameters and inflammation and fibrosis of the liver in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection (CHB).MethodsPatients with liver biopsy-confirmed CHB were included in the study. Liver fibrosis and inflammation were assessed by histopathology of biopsied liver tissue. Platelet count (PLT), platelet distribution width (PDW) and mean platelet volume (MPV) were determined as part of routine blood tests. The relationship between inflammation and fibrosis and platelet parameters were analysed by multiple linear regression.ResultsThe study included 677 patients. PLT and PDW accounted for 20.5% of liver inflammation. PLT and PDW accounted for 18.4% of liver fibrosis.ConclusionPlatelet parameters can provide valuable information for the assessment of hepatic inflammation and fibrosis.

CDA can be an effective alternative method to ACDF for the treatment of cervical spondylosis.