OBJECTIVEThe utility of telemedicine (TM) in neurosurgery is underexplored, with most of the studies relating to teletrauma or telestroke programs. In this study, the authors evaluate the cost-effectiveness of TM consultations for follow-up care of a large population of patients who underwent neurosurgical procedures.METHODSA decision-analytical model was used to assess the cost-effectiveness of TM for elective post–neurosurgical care patients from a predominantly nonurban cohort in West Bengal, India. The model compared TM care via a nodal center in West Bengal to routine, in-person, per-episode care at the provider site in Bangalore, India. Cost and effectiveness data relating to 1200 patients were collected for a 52-month period. The effectiveness of TM care was calculated using efficiency in terms of the percentage of successful TM consultations, as well as patient-perceived utility values for overall experience of the type of health care access that they received. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) analysis was done using the 4-quadrant charting of the cost-effectiveness plane. One-way sensitivity and tornado analyses were performed to identify thresholds where the care strategy would change.RESULTSThe overall utility for the 3 TM scenarios was found to be higher (89%) than for the utility of routine care (80%). TM was found to be more cost-effective (Indian rupee [INR] 2630 per patient) compared to routine care (INR 6848 per patient). The TM strategy “dominates” that of routine care by being more effective and less expensive (ICER value of -39,400 INR/unit of effectiveness). Sensitivity analysis revealed that cost-effectiveness of TM was most sensitive to changes in the number of TM patients, utility and success rate of TM, and travel distance to the TM center.CONCLUSIONSTM care dominates the in-person care strategy by providing more effective and less expensive follow-up care for a remote post–neurosurgical care population in India. In the authors’ setting, this benefit of TM is sustainable even if half the TM consultations turn out to be unsuccessful. The viability of TM as a cost-effective care protocol is attributed to a combination of factors, like an adequate patient volume utilizing TM, patient utility, success rate of TM, and the patient travel distance.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess the cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of lumbar paraspinal muscles in adults with isthmic spondylolisthesis (IS), to compare them with those in the normative population, and to evaluate their correlations with demographic factors and MRI changes in various spinal elements. METHODS The authors conducted a retrospective study of patients who had undergone posterior lumbar interbody fusion for IS, and 2 of the authors acting as independent observers calculated the CSAs of various lumbar paraspinal muscles (psoas, erector spinae [ES], multifidus [MF]) on preoperative axial T2-weighted MR images from the L-3 to L-5 vertebral levels and computed the CSAs as ratios with respect to the corresponding vertebral body areas. These values were then compared with those in an age- and sex-matched normative population and were analyzed with respect to age, sex, duration of symptoms, grade of listhesis, and various MRI changes at the level of the listhesis (pedicle signal change, disc degeneration, and facetal arthropathy). RESULTS Compared with values in normative controls, the mean CSA value for the ES muscle was significantly higher in the study cohort of 120 patients (p = 0.002), whereas that for the MF muscle was significantly lower (p = 0.009), and more so in the patients with PSC (p = 0.002). Magnetic resonance imaging signal change in the pedicle was seen in half of the patients, all of whom demonstrated a Type 2 change. Of the variables tested in a multivariate analysis, age independently predicted lower area values for all 3 muscles (p ≤ 0.001), whereas female sex predicted a lower mean psoas area value (p < 0.001). None of the other variables significantly predicted any of the muscle area values. A decrease in the mean MF muscle area value alone was associated with a significantly increased likelihood of a PSC (p = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS Compared with normative controls, patients with IS suffer selective atrophy of their MF muscle, whereas their ES muscle undergoes a compensatory hypertrophy. Advancing age has a detrimental effect on the areas of the lumbar PSMs, whereas female sex predisposes to a decreased psoas muscle area. Multifidus muscle atrophy correlates with PSC, indicating the role of this deep stabilizer in the biomechanical stability of spondylolisthetic spines. This may be of clinical significance in targeted physiotherapy programs during the conservative management of IS.

This study aimed to identify (1) the thalamic gliomas suitable for surgical resection and (2) the appropriate surgical approach based on their location and the displacement of the posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC). A retrospective study over a 5-year period (from 2006 to 2010) was performed in 41 patients with thalamic gliomas. The mean age of these patients was 20.4 years (range, 2-65 years). Twenty (49 %) tumors were thalamic, 19 (46 %) were thalamopeduncular, and 2 (5 %) were bilateral. The PLIC, based on T2-weighted magnetic resonance axial sections, was displaced anterolaterally in 23 (56 %) cases and laterally in 6 (14 %) cases. It was involved by lesion in eight (20 %) cases and could not be identified in four (10 %) cases. Resection, favored in patients with well-defined, contrast-enhancing lesions, was performed in 34 (83 %) cases, while a biopsy was resorted to in 7 (17 %) cases. A gross total resection or near total resection (>90 %) could be achieved in 26 (63 %) cases. The middle temporal gyrus approach, used when the PLIC was displaced anterolaterally, was the commonly used approach (63.5 %). Common pathologies were pilocytic astrocytoma (58 %) in children and grade III/IV astrocytomas (86 %) in adults. Preoperative motor deficits improved in 64 % of the patients with pilocytic lesions as compared to 0 % in patients with grade III/IV lesions (P value, 0.001). Postoperatively, two patients (5 %) had marginal worsening of motor power, two patients developed visual field defects, and one patient developed a third nerve paresis. Radical resection of thalamic gliomas is a useful treatment modality in a select subset of patients and is the treatment of choice for pilocytic astrocytomas. Tailoring the surgical approach, depending on the relative position of the PLIC, has an important bearing on outcome.

Object The objective of this study was to assess the cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of the superficial, deep flexor (DF), and deep extensor (DE) paraspinal muscles in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM), and to evaluate their correlations with functional status and sagittal spinal alignment changes following central corpectomy with fusion and plating. Methods In this retrospective study of 67 patients who underwent central corpectomy with fusion and plating for CSM, the CSAs of the paraspinal muscles were calculated on the preoperative T2-weighted axial MR images and computed as ratios with respect to the corresponding vertebral body areas (VBAs) and as flexor/extensor CSA ratios. These ratios were then compared with those in the normative population and analyzed with respect to various clinicoradiological factors, including pain status, Nurick grade, and segmental angle change at follow-up (SACF). Results The mean CSA values for all muscle groups and the DF/DE ratio were significantly lower in the study cohort compared with an age- and sex-matched normative study group (p < 0.001). Among various independent variables tested in a multivariate regression analysis, increasing age and female sex significantly predicted a lower total extensor CSA/VBA ratio (p < 0.001), while a longer duration of symptoms significantly predicted a greater total flexor/total extensor CSA ratio (p = 0.02). In patients undergoing single-level corpectomy, graft subsidence had a positive correlation with SACF in all patients (p < 0.05), irrespective of the preoperative segmental angle and curvature, while in patients undergoing 2-level corpectomy, graft subsidence demonstrated such a correlation only in the subgroup with lordotic curvatures (p = 0.02). Among the muscle area ratios, the DF/DE ratio demonstrated a negative correlation with SACF in the subgroup with preoperative straight or kyphotic segmental angles (p = 0.04 in the single corpectomy group, p = 0.01 in the 2-level corpectomy group). There was no correlation of any of the muscle ratios with change in Nurick grade. Conclusions Patients with CSM demonstrate significant atrophy in all the flexor and extensor paraspinal muscles, and also suffer a reduction in the protective effect of a strong DF/DE CSA ratio. Worsening of this ratio significantly correlates with greater segmental kyphotic change in some patients. A physiological mechanism based on DF dysfunction is discussed to elucidate these findings that have implications in preventive physiotherapy and rehabilitation of patients with CSM. Considering that the influence of a muscle ratio was significant only in patients with hypolordosis, a subgroup that is known to have facetal ligament laxity, it may also be postulated that ligamentous support supersedes the influence of paraspinal muscles on postoperative sagittal alignment in CSM.

OBJECTIVEAlthough various predictors of postoperative outcome have been previously identified in patients with Chiari malformation Type I (CMI) with syringomyelia, there is no known algorithm for predicting a multifactorial outcome measure in this widely studied disorder. Using one of the largest preoperative variable arrays used so far in CMI research, the authors attempted to generate a formula for predicting postoperative outcome.METHODSData from the clinical records of 82 symptomatic adult patients with CMI and altered hindbrain CSF flow who were managed with foramen magnum decompression, C-1 laminectomy, and duraplasty over an 8-year period were collected and analyzed. Various preoperative clinical and radiological variables in the 57 patients who formed the study cohort were assessed in a bivariate analysis to determine their ability to predict clinical outcome (as measured on the Chicago Chiari Outcome Scale [CCOS]) and the resolution of syrinx at the last follow-up. The variables that were significant in the bivariate analysis were further analyzed in a multiple linear regression analysis. Different regression models were tested, and the model with the best prediction of CCOS was identified and internally validated in a subcohort of 25 patients.RESULTSThere was no correlation between CCOS score and syrinx resolution (p = 0.24) at a mean ± SD follow-up of 40.29 ± 10.36 months. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the presence of gait instability, obex position, and the M-line–fourth ventricle vertex (FVV) distance correlated with CCOS score, while the presence of motor deficits was associated with poor syrinx resolution (p ≤ 0.05). The algorithm generated from the regression model demonstrated good diagnostic accuracy (area under curve 0.81), with a score of more than 128 points demonstrating 100% specificity for clinical improvement (CCOS score of 11 or greater). The model had excellent reliability (κ = 0.85) and was validated with fair accuracy in the validation cohort (area under the curve 0.75).CONCLUSIONSThe presence of gait imbalance and motor deficits independently predict worse clinical and radiological outcomes, respectively, after decompressive surgery for CMI with altered hindbrain CSF flow. Caudal displacement of the obex and a shorter M-line–FVV distance correlated with good CCOS scores, indicating that patients with a greater degree of hindbrain pathology respond better to surgery. The proposed points-based algorithm has good predictive value for postoperative multifactorial outcome in these patients.

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