Intra operative assessment of the coronal balance in spinal deformity surgery : a technical note and retrospective study.

Obtaining a spine that is well balanced after fusion for scoliotic deformity is primordial for the patients' quality of life. A simple T-shaped instrument combined with standard intraoperative fluoroscopy can be of great help to evaluate the coronal alignment quickly. The aim of this study was to evaluate if a T-shaped device could predict the postoperative coronal balance. Before finalization of the rod fixation, the balance was checked by verifying the relationship between the T-shaped instrument and the upper instrumented vertebra (UIV), and final adjustments were made to correct the coronal balance. A retrospective study was conducted on 48 patients who underwent surgery to correct scoliotic deformity. Intraoperative and postoperative coronal alignment was measured independently by two observers. The mean intraoperative horizontal offset measured between T-shaped instrument and the center of the UIV was 1,69mm to the right with a standard deviation (SD) of 12,43 mm. On postoperative full spine radiographs, the mean offset between the centra sacral vertical line and the center of the UIV was 2,44mm to the left with a SD of 13,10mm. There is no significant difference in coronal balance between both measurements (p=0,12). With this technique we were able to predict the postoperative coronal balance in all but one patient (97,92%). We conclude that the use of a simple T-shaped instrument can provide adequate intraoperative assessment of coronal balance in correcting scoliotic deformity. Level of evidence : IV - case series.

Variability in Hospital Costs of Adult Spinal Deformity Care.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective, single-center analysis. OBJECTIVE: To calculate the total clinical hospital cost of the Adult Spinal Deformity (ASD) care trajectory, to explain cost variability by patient and surgery characteristics, and to identify areas of process improvement opportunities. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: ASD is associated with a high financial and clinical burden on society. ASD care thus requires improved insights in costs and its drivers as a critical step toward the improvement of value, i.e., the ratio between delivered health outcome and associated costs. METHODS: Patient characteristics and surgical variables were collected following ethical approval in a cohort of 139 ASD patients, treated between December, 2014 and January, 2018. Clinical hospital costs were calculated, including all care activities, from initial consultation to 1 year after initial surgery (excl. overhead) in a university hospital setting. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to analyze the impact of patient and surgical characteristics on clinical costs. RESULTS: 75.5% of the total clinical hospital cost (&OV0556;27,865) was incurred during initial surgery with costs related to the operating theatre (80.3%), nursing units (11.9%), and intensive care (2.9%) being the largest contributors. 57.5% of the variation in total cost could be explained in order of importance by surgical invasiveness, age, coronary disease, single or multiple-staged surgery, and mobility status. Revision surgery, unplanned surgery due to complications, was found to increase average costs by 87.6% compared with elective surgeries (&OV0556; 44,907 (± &OV0556; 23,429) vs. &OV0556; 23,944 (± &OV0556; 7302)). CONCLUSION: This study identified opportunities for process improvement by calculating the total clinical hospital costs. In addition, it identified patient and treatment characteristics that predict 57.5% of cost variation, which could be taken into account when developing a payment system. Future research should include outcome data to assess variation in value. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4.