OBJECTIVEThe goal of this study was to identify factors that contribute to the formation of acute spinal epidural hematoma (SEH) by correlating etiology, age, site, clinical status, and treatment with immediate results and long-term outcomes.METHODSThe authors reviewed their series of 15 patients who had been treated for SEH between 1996 and 2012. In addition, the authors reviewed the relevant international literature from 1869 (when SEH was first described) to 2012, collecting a total of 1010 cases. Statistical analysis was performed in 959 (95%) cases that were considered valid for assessing the incidence of age, sex, site, and clinical status at admission, correlating each of these parameters with the treatment results. Statistical analysis was also performed in 720 (71.3%) cases to study the incidence of etiological factors that favor SEH formation: coagulopathy, trauma, spinal puncture, pregnancy, and multifactorial disorders. The clinical status at admission and long-term outcome were studied for each group. Clinical status was assessed using the Neuro-Grade (NG) scale.RESULTSThe mean patient age was 47.97 years (range 0–91 years), and a significant proportion of patients were male (60%, p < 0.001). A bimodal distribution has been reported for age at onset with peaks in the 2nd and 6th decades of life. The cause of the SEH was not reported in 42% of cases. The etiology concerned mainly iatrogenic factors (18%), such as coagulopathy or spinal puncture, rather than noniatrogenic factors (29%), such as genetic or metabolic coagulopathy, trauma, and pregnancy. The etiology was multifactorial in 11.1% of cases. The most common sites for SEH were C-6 (n = 293, 31%) and T-12 (n = 208, 22%), with maximum extension of 6 vertebral bodies in 720 cases (75%). At admission, 806 (84%) cases had moderate neurological impairment (NG 2 or 3), and only lumbar hematoma was associated with a good initial clinical neurological status (NG 0 or 1). Surgery was performed in 767 (80%) cases. Mortality was greater in patients older than 40 years of age (9%; p < 0.01). Sex did not influence any of these data (p > 0.05).CONCLUSIONSFactors that contribute to the formation of acute SEH are iatrogenic, not iatrogenic, or multifactorial. The treatment of choice is surgery, and the results of treatment are influenced by the patient’s clinical and neurological status at admission, age, and the craniocaudal site.

From January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2003, in the Neurosurgery Department of Rome University o "Sapienza," 167 patients underwent anterior surgery for cervical spondylodiscoarthrosis. The levels treated by the anterior stand-alone technique were: C3-C4 (11%), C4-C5 (19%), C5-C6 (40%), and C6-C7 (30%). All patients underwent left anterior presternocleidomastoid-precarotid approach, microdiscectomy, and interbody fusion using a carbon fiber cage filled with hydroxyapatite. All patients were discharged within 48 h after surgery with cervical orthosis. In one case, a hematoma of the surgical site occurred within 12 h of surgery; for this reason the patient underwent surgical revision and was discharged 4 days later. All patients have worn cervical orthosis for a mean period of 7 weeks and underwent radiological follow-up with cervical RX at 1 and 3 months after surgery. All patients underwent follow-up from 54 to 90 months after surgery, and all of them underwent cervical RX, cervical CT scans for the estimate of fusion, and evaluation of neurological status using VAS and NDI. Of 167 patients, 132 were cooperative for this study, 18 were non-cooperative, and 17 died. The estimation of fusion made by cervical CT scans with sagittal reconstruction showed complete osteointegration of the cage in 115 patients (87.1%), while it showed pseudoarthrosis in 17 patients (12.9%). In 24 patients, we observed adjacent segment degeneration, and 13 of these underwent new surgical procedures in this institute or in another hospital. Clinical evaluation with VAS and NDI showed a good outcome, with poorest benefit in patients over 60 years. The clinical analysis showed a good fusion rate in according with literature, 13% of non-fusion rate without clinical evidence and 20% of ASDegeneration but only 10% had required new surgery. We also observed that patients over 60 years of age had less satisfactory outcome, probably related with the evolution of pathophysiological degeneration of the cervical spine. In the opinion, pseudoarthrosis is caused by malpositioning of the carbon fiber cage.

Study Design Prospective cohort study. Objectives To analyze the effectiveness and practicality of using cancellous bone substitute with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in posterolateral arthrodesis. Methods Twenty consecutive patients underwent posterolateral arthrodesis with implantation of cancellous bone substitute soaked with PRP obtained directly in the operating theater on the right hemifield and cancellous bone substitute soaked with saline solution on the right. Results Computed tomography scans at 6 and 12 months after surgery were performed in all patients. Bone density was investigated by comparative analysis of region of interest. The data were analyzed with repeated-measures variance analyses with value of density after 6 months and value of density after 12 months, using age, levels of arthrodesis, and platelet count as covariates. The data demonstrated increased bone density using PRP and heterologous cancellous block resulting in an enhanced fusion rate during the first 6 months after surgery. Conclusions PRP used with cancellous bone substitute increases the rate of fusion and bone density joining osteoinductive and osteoconductive effect.

Ischemia of the basal ganglia as an immediate consequence of minor head injury in children is rare (< 2% of all ischemic stroke in childhood) and is due to vasospasm of the lenticulostriate arteries. The clinical history of these lesions is particularly favourable because they are usually small, and also because the facial-brachial-crural hemiparesis typical of this pathology usually regresses after a period ranging from several weeks to several months, despite the persistence of an ischemic area on MRI. This is due to the well known neuronal plasticity of the CNS, in particular, of the primary motor cortex. The most effective therapeutic approach appears to be the conservative one, although the best treatment regimen is still not well defined.Young patients should be closely monitored and treated conservatively with osmotic diuretics to reduce perilesional edema. At the same time, however, it is very important to exclude, by means of instrumental and laboratory studies, conditions that could favour the onset of ischemia, including emboligen heart disease, thrombophilia and acute traumatic arterial dissections. Generally speaking, the prognosis in these cases is good. The authors describe their experience treating a 10-month old baby girl, with a left lenticular nucleus ischemia and report a literature review.

In patients with low back pain and negative dynamic X-Rays, an accurate analysis of the radiological exams (CT, MRI, X-Rays) allows to formulate a diagnosis of suspect MI with a good predictive value. This situation opens many clinical and medicolegal scenarios. The preliminary results seem to validate the test with a good predictive value, especially towards ASD, but they need further studies. On the basis of the results obtained, the test seems to allow a good classification of the dysfunctional phase of the degenerative cascade, identifying and classifying MI as a pathologic entity, defining its pathoanatomical and clinical relevance and elaborating a treatment algorithm.

The optimal treatment in children under 10 years with GC is still obscure and absolutely not clear because total surgical resection is impossible to perform for the diffuse nature of the disease; CHT with TMZ seems to be the best treatment for children because it demonstrates a little reduction of the extension tumoral mass, but the responsivity of this treatment is extremely variable from case to case.

MRI with STIR sequences appears to be useful in addressing the duration of conservative treatment in AARD.

We can conclude that the percutaneous procedure seems to give better results in terms of satisfaction and return to normal activities, although both procedures guarantee excellent fusion rates.