Introduction Articles published on spine pathologies have been very useful, providing important information to improve diagnosis and choice of treatment. This information is even more important when it comes from the different continents, because it shows that information can be provided and applied by physicians worldwide to solve medical problems encountered daily. Materials and Methods A literature search of publications by spinal surgeons in Latin America, Africa, Oceania, and Asia on topics concerning the spine or spinal cord was performed using an online database; Pubmed.gov. The results were limited to articles published from January 2000 to December 2013. The variables studied were year of publication, scientific journal that published the papers, neurosurgical or orthopedic department where the study was done, the type of study, the main pathology studied, the Oxford classification, the journal impact factor (IF), and the type of articles that were entered on Excel sheet. Results A total of 43,711 articles were identified after the MEDLINE search. Most of the articles were excluded based on information provided in the title and abstract. This study comprised 5,846 articles published in the Medline database by Latin America, Africa, Oceania, and Asia spine surgeons from 2000 to 2013. During this period, 5,102 articles were published in Asia, 410 in Latin America, 138 in Africa, and 79 in Oceania. There was a correlation between the number of publications and the articles classified at the Oxford level of evidence 1, 2, and 3 with significant results and positive association. Conclusion This study showed a growth in the number of publications in the past 13 years by spinal surgeons in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Oceania. It is necessary to discuss a way to increase quantity and quality of scientific publications, mainly by improving education in research.
Introduction Germ cell tumors originate in the primary stem cell located either inside or outside the gonadal system. Teratomas are the major group, with the sacrococcygeal location being the most common extragonadal site, independent of their being benign or malignant. We describe five cases of sacrococcygeal teratoma and emphasize aspects of diagnosis, surgical techniques, and complementary approaches. Patients and Methods A total of five cases of sacrococcygeal teratoma were reported and a literature review was performed using an online database, Pubmed.gov. The authors emphasize aspects of diagnosis, classification, prognosis, and the therapeutic options. Results The five cases were females and the age range from 38 weeks intrauterine (ultrasonography diagnosis) to 1.5 years. The clinical presentation usually was a sacral mass or fecal constipation. The Altman classification was type 1 in three cases and type 4 in two cases. The serum levels of α-fetoprotein was normal in three cases. Preoperative high serum α-fetoprotein levels returned to normal levels 10 days after surgery. The radical surgical resection of the tumor and the coccyx was done in all cases through a posterior sacral approach and midline incision. The surgery did not compromise the neurological function. No tumor recurrence was seen in by radiologic and α-fetoprotein examinations after a medium follow-up of 15.3 years. Conclusion The sacrococcygeal region is the most frequent site of teratomas in children. Complete tumor resection and removal of the coccyx are the main objective in curative treatment of the teratoma. Diagnosis and treatment as early as possible is essential to prevent it from becoming malignant.
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