ABSTRACT
Background and objective Novel surgical advancements have introduced endoscopic operative techniques for low back surgery, including transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), which theoretically allows for improved decompression with minimal invasiveness. In addition, endoscopically performed TLIF has allowed for the use of local anesthesia as an alternative method to general anesthesia for patients. We aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes in patients undergoing endoscopic TLIF and also compare the outcomes in patients undergoing general versus local anesthesia. Methods The databases of PubMed, Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were queried for all studies involving patients undergoing endoscopic TLIF. After the extraction of the data and assessment of study quality via the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, statistical analysis was performed with the R software (The R Foundation, Vienna, Austria) metafor package. The random-effects model was used as the data was largely heterogeneous (I2 >50%). Results In total, 15 studies involving a total of 441 patients were selected for the final quantitative meta-analysis. The overall mean difference between the postoperative visual analog scale (VAS) leg scores and preoperative VAS scores was 3.45 (95% CI: 4.93-1.97, p: <0.01). Postoperative VAS low back scores revealed a mean difference of 3.36 (95% CI: 5.09-1.63, p: <0.01). The overall mean difference of ODI scores was 4.58 (95% CI: 6.76-2.40, p: <0.01). Mean blood loss was 136.32 mL and the mean operative time was 149.15 minutes. The mean length of stay postoperatively was lower in the local anesthesia group compared to the general anesthesia group (1.40 vs 5.99 days respectively). There were no outcome variables of patients undergoing general anesthesia versus local anesthesia that showed statistically significant differences in this analysis due to the small amount of data published on patients undergoing endoscopic TLIF with local anesthesia. In addition, the failure of studies in reporting standard deviations as data parameters further limited the quantitative analysis. Conclusion Endoscopic TLIF appears to be a viable option for patients undergoing lumbar interbody fusion. Initial data reveal that endoscopic TLIF with local anesthesia may offer patients outcomes similar to those in patients undergoing endoscopic TLIF with general anesthesia, with lower operative times and length of stay.
ABSTRACT
The cutaneous manifestations of secondary syphilis can vary significantly between patients, leading to a more difficult or delayed diagnosis. Here we present an instructive case of secondary syphilis in a 45-year-old, HIV-positive male patient. He presented with a solitary, crusted anterior neck nodule without concomitant systemic symptoms. Together, history and physical exam were concerning for non-melanoma skin cancer. Histopathologic evaluation of the lesion revealed an extensive infiltrate of plasma cells at the dermoepidermal junction, and immunohistochemical staining revealed numerous Treponema pallidum microorganisms. Physicians must keep syphilis in the differential diagnosis when evaluating atypical nodular lesions resembling non-melanoma skin cancer for the purpose of initiating appropriate antibiotic treatment and preventing future infectious complications.
ABSTRACT
Objective Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in children younger than four years of age. Children diagnosed with desmoplastic nodular medulloblastoma (DNMB) have more favorable survival outcomes when compared to other subtypes of this disease and, to date, the demographics of DNMB have only been characterized by a few small clinical case series. Additionally, the current effort is being made at reducing radiotherapeutic modalities in this patient population to avoid the adverse effects associated with radiotherapy in children. Therefore, the goal of this study was to characterize the demographics, treatments, and survival outcomes of patients with DNMB using a large federal database. Methods The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was queried to retrieve demographical, treatment, and survival data for patients diagnosed with DNMB. Statistical testing was performed with the R software stats package (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). Student's t tests and analysis of variance tests were used to measure differences among survival rates. Results Data from 360 patients with DNMB were retrieved from 1975-2016. There was a higher prevalence of DNMB in children younger than four years of age (33% of all cases). Males had a higher prevalence than females (57%). There was a preponderance of diagnoses in white individuals (82% of all cases) and more diagnoses in the Pacific Coast region (49% of all cases). Distant metastases were present at initial diagnosis in 8.7%. Surgery was performed in almost all patients, and gross total resection was achieved in 77%. The overall rate of survival was 77.8% at five years; age, sex, race, and geographical region of diagnosis were not associated with differences in survival outcomes. Patients with no radiotherapy had a lower rate of survival compared to patients with postoperative radiotherapy (mean difference = 19.7%; [95% CI 1.4%-38.0%], p = 0.0314). However, radiotherapy did not improve survival outcomes in patients undergoing chemotherapeutic treatment to a degree with any statistical significance. There was no statistically significant improvement in survival for patients undergoing radiotherapy prior to procedure when compared to patients with no radiotherapy. Conclusions In patients undergoing chemotherapeutic treatment for the DNMB subtype of medulloblastoma specifically, additional radiotherapy may offer only minimal benefit to the survival outcome. It is essential continued clinical trials be performed for the purpose of devising alternate treatments to radiotherapy.
