Recommendation 1: When selecting the appropriate outcome measures for clinical or research purposes, consider domains that best measure what are most important to patients. Measures that are valid, reliable, and responsive to change should be considered first. Other considerations include the number of items required (especially in the context of multiple measures), whether the measure is validated in the relevant language, and the associated costs or fees. Strength: Strong Recommendation 2: Domains of greatest importance include pain, function, and quality of life. If cost utilization is a priority, then preference-based measures should be considered. For pain, we recommend the VAS and NRPS because of their ease of administration and responsiveness. For function, we recommend the ODI and RMDQ. The SF-36 and its shorter versions are most commonly used and should be considered if quality of life is important. If cost utility is important, consider the EQ-5D or SF-6D. Psychosocial tests are best used as screening tools prior to surgery because of their lack of responsiveness. Complications should always be assessed as a standard of clinical practice. Return to work and medication use are complicated outcome measures and not recommended unless the specific study question is focused on these domains. Consider staff and patient burden when prioritizing one's battery of measures.

By April 7, 2020, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was responsible for 1,383,436 confirmed cases of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), involving 209 countries around the world; 378,881 cases have been confirmed in the United States. During this pandemic, the urgent surgical requirements will not stop. As an example, the most recent Centers of Disease Control and Prevention reports estimate that there are 2.8 million trauma patients hospitalized in the United States. These data illustrate an increase in the likelihood of encountering urgent surgical patients with either clinically suspected or confirmed COVID-19 in the near future. Preparation for a pandemic involves considering the different levels in the hierarchy of controls and the different phases of the pandemic. Apart from the fact that this pandemic certainly involves many important health, economic, and community ramifications, it also requires several initiatives to mandate what measures are most appropriate to prepare for mitigating the occupational risks. This article provides evidencebased recommendations and measures for the appropriate personal protective equipment for different clinical and surgical activities in various settings. To reduce the occupational risk in treating suspected or confirmed COVID-19 urgent orthopaedic patients, recommended precautions and preventive actions (triage area, emergency department consultation room, induction room, operating room, and recovery room) are reviewed. I n October 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services'-The Office for Civil Rights took a corrective action against an orthopaedic surgeon who unlawfully canceled an elective surgery for an HIV-positive patient. This action was justified via the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability (including HIV/AIDS) in health programs or activities that receive Health and Human Service funding. 1 Over the past few decades,

Review the current literature regarding spontaneous spinal epidural hematomas (SSEHs) and report on the known risk factors, evaluation, and treatment of this rare entity. A literature search was performed using PubMed and Ovid to identify articles pertaining to SSEHs. Due to the rarity of the pathologic entity, only scattered case reports and associated reviews are available. SSEHs are a rare yet potentially life-altering event. The underlying risk factors are poorly understood, and SSEHs present with minimal or no antecedent trauma. SSEHs warrant urgent surgical intervention given the associated risk of permanent neurologic sequelae. Given the potential for persistent neurologic deficits, physicians must entertain a clinical suspicion of SSEH when a patient presents with a history of back pain followed by neurologic deficits. Even without clear risk factors for hemorrhage, the appropriate evaluation to include advanced imaging studies should be obtained to allow for identification of this entity and urgent surgical management.

Recommendation 1: When surgically treating CLBP, we recommend administering both a VAS for pain and a condition-specific physical measure such as the ODI before and after surgical intervention as these outcomes are the most treatment specific and responsive to change. Strength of recommendation: Strong.Recommendation 2: When evaluating the surgical outcomes for CLBP in the clinical-research setting, we recommend selecting a shorter version for measuring general HRQoL (e.g., SF-12, EQ-5D) to minimize clinician and patient burden. Strength of recommendation: Strong.

There is currently no structured classification system to quantitate heterotopic bone formation after artificial disk replacement procedures. The purpose of this work was to develop a method of classifying heterotopic bone formation that is reliable between investigators with different levels of training and easy to remember with only five gradations of severity. One hundred one radiographs of clinical patients and 17 microradiographs from nonhuman primates having undergone various types of disk replacement were classified by seven independent reviewers. The kappa statistics were calculated for interobserver variation between the seven participants with various levels of spinal training and the intraobserver error based on two assessments made at least 2 months apart. The interobserver reliability correlation coefficient for seven raters calculated using the intraclass kappa correlation coefficient and the Kish rho was r = 0.9683 (P < 0.0001). The intraobserver reliability based on readings at two time intervals at a minimum of 2 months apart was r = 0.8949 (P = 0.01). This classification of heterotopic ossification, periannular calcification, and ectopic bone formation associated with total disk arthroplasty proved to be highly reliable and reproducible.