Quality of life after surgical treatment of primary intramedullary spinal cord tumors in children

Abstract

<jats:sec> <jats:title>Object</jats:title> <jats:p>Presently, the best available treatment for intramedullary spinal cord tumors (IMSCTs) in children is microsurgery with the objective of maximal tumor removal and minimal neurological morbidity. The latter has become manageable with the development and standard use of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring. Traditionally, the perioperative neurological evaluation is based on surgical or spinal cord injury scores focusing on sensorimotor function. Little is known about the quality of life after such operations; therefore, this study was designed to investigate the impact of surgery for IMSCTs on the quality of life in children.</jats:p></jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p>Twelve consecutive pediatric patients treated for IMSCT were included in this retrospective fixed cohort study. A multidimensional questionnaire-based quality of life instrument, the Pediatric Quality of Life Questionnaire version 4 (PedsQL 4.0), was chosen to analyze follow-up data. This validated instrument particularly allows for a comparison between a patient cohort and a healthy pediatric sample population.</jats:p></jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p>Of 11 mailed questionnaires (1 patient had died of progressive disease), 10 were returned, resulting in a response rate of 91%. There were 8 low-grade lesions (5 pilocytic astrocytomas, 1 ganglioglioma, 1 hemangioblastoma, and 1 cavernoma) and 4 high-grade lesions (2 anaplastic gangliogliomas, 1 glioblastoma, and 1 glioneuronal tumor). The mean age at diagnosis was 7.5 years, the mean follow-up was 4.2 years, and 83% of the patients were male. Total resection was achieved in 5 patients and subtotal resection in 7. Four patients had undergone 2 or more resections. The 4 patients with high-grade tumors and 2 with incompletely resected low-grade tumors underwent adjuvant treatment (2 chemotherapy and 4 both radiotherapy and chemotherapy). The mean modified McCormick Scale score at the time of diagnosis was 1.7; at the time of follow-up, 1.5. The mean PedsQL 4.0 total score in the low-grade group was 78.5; in the high-grade group, 82.6. There was no significant difference in PedsQL 4.0 scores between the patient cohort and the normal population.</jats:p></jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title> <jats:p>In a small cohort of children who had undergone surgery for IMSCTs with a mean follow-up of 4.2 years, quality of life scores according to the PedsQL 4.0 instrument were not different from those in a normal sample population.</jats:p></jats:sec>

Patient-reported outcomes of occipitocervical and atlantoaxial fusions in children

“…6 The average PedsQL score in the present study compared favorably with good outcomes obtained in children with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis 14 and intramedullary spinal cord tumors. 24 These results show that expected quality of life outcomes after craniovertebral junction surgery in children are equivalent to outcomes seen in other pediatric spine surgeries. The pediatric spine literature has been sparse in analyzing effects of occipitocervical and atlantoaxial fusion on quality of life in children.…”

Quality of Life Outcomes Following Resection of Adult Intramedullary Spinal Cord Tumors

“…Despite the number of investigations reporting clinical outcomes after IMSCT resection, there remains a clear gap in the literature regarding QOL outcomes after resection. Schneider et al 26 recently reported a case series on the QOL of 10 pediatric patients who had undergone surgery for IMSCT. When comparing this small cohort to a control group from the normal sample population, they found no differences in Pediatric Quality of Life Questionnaire version 4 scores.…”

“…10,13,25 Although clinical outcomes after IMSCT resection have been extensively described, the literature is limited in reports on the quality of life (QOL) benefit of resection. Outside of a small (n = 10) case series of pediatric patients that demonstrated no QOL benefit compared to controls, 26 no studies have investigated these QOL outcomes. In particular, no data exist for adult patients.…”

Spinal intramedullary schwannomas—report of a case and extensive review of the literature

“…No pyramidal tract signs were present, nor spinal ataxia. The patient was defined as grade I according to the modified McCormick scale [10,11].…”