ABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional. OBJECTIVES: Spin, a prevalent bias, can distort outcomes in well-validated research. Treatment of lumbar stenosis with spondylolisthesis through decompression alone (DA) vs decompression and fusion (DF) remains a controversial topic. We aimed to identify the prevalence of spin in meta-analyses and systematic reviews regarding DA vs DF in the treatment of spinal stenosis with concomitant degenerative spondylolisthesis. METHODS: MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched for meta-analyses and systematic reviews comparing DA vs DF treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis accompanied by degenerative spondylolisthesis. Each study was evaluated for the nine most severe spin types. We also explored the association between spin and methodological quality of a systematic review using the revised A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews appraisal tool. RESULTS: The search yielded 1506 articles, of which 13 met inclusion. It was found that 46.2% (6/13) of the articles contained spin within the abstract. Of the nine most severe types, type 5 was found to be the most prevalent (4/13, 30.8%), followed by types 9 (2/13, 15.4%), 3 (1/13, 7.7%), 4 (1/13, 7.7%), and 6 (1/13, 7.7%). Spin types 1, 2, 7 and 8 were not found. According to AMSTAR-2, 53.8% (7/13) of the studies were appraised as "critically low" quality and 46.2% (6/13) as "low" quality. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the presence of spin in 46.2% of abstracts pertaining to the treatment for spinal stenosis with degenerative spondylolisthesis. Spine surgeons should learn to recognize spin as they review articles before implementing them into practice.
ABSTRACT
Metatarsal fractures are one of the most common injuries after foot trauma. It is debilitating, as the metatarsals are one of the most crucial bones for any weight-bearing movement. This report demonstrates the beneficial outcome of using Kirschner wires (K-wires) in a trauma setting and the complicated healing process. A 56-year-old gentleman was brought into the emergency department after a reinforced cement pipe fell onto the patient's steel-toe boots, striking his left foot immediately proximal to the steel portion of the boot. The patient had sustained displaced comminuted fractures of the left second, third, fourth, and fifth metatarsals with an extensive open wound (Gustilo type II open fracture). Open reduction with internal fixation (ORIF) was performed using K-wires to restore and preserve the anatomical and functional integrity of the foot. Following the surgery, the patient developed a hammer toe of the left fifth metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint two months after the ORIF; we performed resection arthroplasty to relieve discomfort and further aid the recovery process. Following the resection arthroplasty, eschar had formed at the surgical site, extending from the lateral aspect of the left foot to the plantar surface, for which we had performed a skin graft after excisional debridement of the necrotic tissue. After one year of close follow-ups with rigorous physical therapy exercises, the patient had a fair recovery process and is now able to ambulate without any assistive devices. As such, using K-wires remains a viable option for reducing misaligned metatarsal fractures and providing fairly good outcomes even in the setting of severe foot trauma.
