Odontoid fractures: impact of age and comorbidities on surgical decision making.

BACKGROUND: Surgical fixation is recommended for type II and III odontoid fractures (OFx) with major translation of the odontoid fragment, regardless of the patient's age, and for all type II OFx in patients aged ≥50 years. The level of compliance with this recommendation is unknown, and our hypothesis is that open surgical fixation is less frequently performed than recommended. We suspect that this discrepancy might be due to the older age and comorbidities among patients with OFx. METHODS: We present a prospective observational cohort study of all patients in the southeastern Norwegian population (3.0 million) diagnosed with a traumatic OFx in the period from 2015 to 2018. RESULTS: Three hundred thirty-six patients with an OFx were diagnosed, resulting in an overall incidence of 2.8/100000 persons/year. The median age of the patients was 80 years, and 45% were females. According to the Anderson and D'Alonzo classification, the OFx were type II in 199 patients (59%) and type III in 137 patients (41%). The primary fracture treatment was rigid collar alone in 79% of patients and open surgical fixation in 21%. In the multivariate analysis, the following parameters were significantly associated with surgery as the primary treatment: independent living, less serious comorbidities prior to the injury, type II OFx and major sagittal translation of the odontoid fragment. Conversion from external immobilization alone to subsequent open surgical fixation was performed in 10% of patients. Significant differences the in conversion rate were not observed between patients with type II and III fractures. The level of compliance with the treatment recommendations for OFx was low. The main deviation was the underuse of primary surgical fixation for type II OFx. The most common reasons listed for choosing primary external immobilization instead of primary surgical fixation were an older age and comorbidities. CONCLUSION: Major comorbidities and an older age appear to be significant factors contributing to physicians' decision to refrain from the surgical fixation of OFx. Hence, comorbidities and age should be considered for inclusion in the decision tree for the choice of treatment for OFx in future guidelines.

Treatment of thoracolumbar burst fractures fixed with intermediate pins by the posterior approach / Tratamento de fraturas toracolombares tipo explosão com fixação com pinos intermediários pela via posterior / Tratamiento de las fracturas toracolumbares tipo explosión con tornillos intermedios por vía posterior

Objective: Radiographic evaluation of patients with thoracolumbar burst fractures treated with unconvencional transpedicular fixation, which includes additional fixation of the fractured vertebra associated with transverse connector - Crosslink clamp. Methods: Retrospective study evaluating a total of 68 patients operated at the Hospital do Trabalhador de Curitiba, Orthopedics Service, of which 15 were eligible for the study. All patients were treated with posterior pedicle fixation and intermediate screw. The assessment by the Cobb angle method was performed on preoperative, immediate postoperative and one year after surgery radiographs. Results: It was observed an average reduction of kyphosis of 8.3° (77%), with a loss of 1.34° in late postoperative compared to the immediate postoperative period. Conclusion: The method of fixation of burst-type fractures of the thoracolumbar spine by the posterior approach with intermediate screw was effective in maintaining the reduction achieved in the immediate postoperative period and after one year of evolution.

Objetivo: Avaliação radiográfica de pacientes com fraturas toracolombares do tipo explosão, tratados com fixação transpedicular não convencional, que inclui a fixação adicional da vértebra fraturada associada ao uso da barra de conexão transversal - Crosslink clamp. Métodos: Estudo retrospectivo com 68 pacientes operados no Hospital do Trabalhador de Curitiba, serviço de Ortopedia, dos quais 15 foram elegíveis para a pesquisa. Todos os pacientes foram tratados com fixação pedicular posterior e com parafuso intermediário. Foi realizada a avaliação pelo método do ângulo de Cobb das radiografias pré-operatória, pós-operatória imediata e com um ano de pós-operatório. Resultados: Foi observada a redução média da cifose de 8,3° (77%), com uma perda de 1,34° no pós-operatório tardio em relação ao pós-operatório imediato. Conclusão: O método de fixação de fraturas tipo explosão da coluna toracolombar por via posterior com parafuso intermediário mostrou-se eficaz na manutenção da redução obtida no pós-operatório imediato e após um ano de evolução.

Objetivo: Evaluación radiográfica de los pacientes con fracturas toracolumbares de tipo explosión tratados con fijación transpedicular no convencional, que incluye la fijación adicional de la vértebra fracturada asociada con el uso de barra de conexión transversal - Crosslink clamp. Métodos: Estudio retrospectivo de 68 pacientes operados en el Hospital do Trabalhador de Curitiba, Servicio de Ortopedia, de los cuales 15 eran elegibles para el estudio. Todos los pacientes fueron tratados con fijación pedicular posterior y tornillo intermedio. Se realizó la evaluación por el método del ángulo de Cobb en las radiografías preoperatorias, postoperatorias inmediatas y un año después de la cirugía. Resultados: Se observó una reducción promedio de 8,3° de la cifosis (77%), con una pérdida de 1,34º en el postoperatorio tardío en comparación con el postoperatorio inmediato. Conclusión: El método de fijación de las fracturas de tipo explosión de la columna toracolumbar por la vía posterior con el tornillo intermedio fue eficaz en el mantenimiento de la reducción lograda en el período postoperatorio inmediato y después de un año de evolución.

Damage control in thoracic and lumbar unstable fractures in polytrauma. Systematic review / Controle de danos em fraturas instáveis torácica e lombar em politraumatizados. Revisão sistemática / Control de daños en fracturas torácicas y lumbares inestables en politraumatizados. Revisión sistemática

The objective of this systematic review was to integrate the information from existing studies to determine the level of evidence and grade of recommendation of the implementation of damage control in unstable thoracic and lumbar fractures in polytraumatized patients. Eighteen papers were collected from different databases by keywords and Mesh terms; the level of evidence and grade of recommendation, the characteristics of the participants, the time of fracture fixation, the type of approach and technique used, the length of stay in the intensive care unit, the days of dependence on mechanical ventilator, and the incidence of complications in patients were assessed. The largest proportion of the studies were classified as level 4 evidence and grade C of recommendation which is favorable to the implementation of damage control in unstable thoracic and lumbar fractures in polytraumatized patients as a positive recommendation, although not conclusive. Most papers advocate fracture stabilization within 72 hours of the injury which is associated with a lower incidence of complications, hospital stay, stay in the intensive care unit and lower mortality.

O objetivo desta revisão sistemática foi integrar as informações dos estudos existentes para determinar o nível de evidência e grau de recomendação da aplicação do controle de danos em fraturas torácica e lombar instáveis em pacientes com politraumatismo. Foram incluídos 18 artigos encontrados em diferentes bancos de dados, usando-se palavras-chave e termos do MeSH; avaliaram-se: nível de evidência e grau de recomendação, características dos participantes, momento em que se realizou a fixação da fratura, tipo de acesso e a técnica utilizada, dias de permanência na unidade de terapia intensiva, os dias de dependência de ventilação mecânica e a incidência de complicações dos pacientes. A maior proporção de artigos foi classificada como nível 4 de evidência, com predomínio do grau C de recomendação, o que torna favorável à implementação do controle de danos em fraturas torácicas e lombares instáveis em pacientes com politraumatismo, não sendo, contudo, concludente. A maioria dos artigos preconiza a estabilização da fratura nas primeiras 72 horas da lesão, o que está associado a menor incidência de complicações, permanência hospitalar, permanência na unidade de terapia intensiva e a menor mortalidade.

El objetivo de esta revisión sistemática fue integrar la información de los estudios existentes para determinar el nivel de evidencia y grado de recomendación de la aplicación del control de daños en fracturas torácicas y lumbares inestables en pacientes politraumatizados. Se incluyeron 18 artículos localizados en diferentes bases de datos a través de palabras clave y términos del MeSH; se valoró el nivel de evidencia y grado de recomendación, las características de los participantes, el momento en que se realizó la fijación de la fractura, el tipo de abordaje y técnica utilizada, los días de estancia en la unidad de terapia intensiva, los días dependientes de ventilador mecánico y la incidencia de complicaciones de los pacientes. La mayor proporción de los estudios se catalogaron como nivel de evidencia 4 y se obtuvo un grado C de recomendación como predominante lo cual coloca la aplicación de control de daños a fracturas torácicas y lumbares inestables en pacientes politraumatizados como una recomendación favorable pero no concluyente. La mayoría de los artículos abogan por una estabilización de la fractura en las primeras 72 horas de la lesión lo cual se asocia a menor incidencia de complicaciones, estancia hospitalaria, estancia en la unidad de cuidados intensivos y menor mortalidad.

Apophyseal ring fracture associated with two levels extruded disc herniation: case report and review of the literature / Fratura do anel apofisário associada à hérnia discal extrusa de dois níveis: relato de caso e revisão da literatura

Apophyseal ring fractures are rare injuries that may be associated with lumbar disc herniation in young patients. We report a unique case in the literature of a 15-year-old male patient who played football and was admitted at our service complaining of sciatica radiating into the left leg. An apophysial ring injury of L5 vertebral body was observed. This injury caused two extruded disc herniation in adjacent levels. Surgical procedure was indicated after failure of conservative treatment.

As fraturas do anel apofisário são lesões raras, que podem estar associadas à hérnia de disco lombar nos pacientes jovens. Apresentamos aqui um caso único na literatura de paciente de 15 anos, gênero masculino, praticante de futebol, com queixa de ciatalgia para o membro inferior esquerdo. Houve lesão do anel apofisário, nos planaltos superior e inferior do corpo vertebral de L5, ocasionando hérnias discais extrusas nos níveis adjacentes. O procedimento cirúrgico foi indicado após a falha do tratamento conservador.

EVALUATION OF SURGICAL TREATMENT OF FRACTURES OF THORACOLUMBAR SPINE WITH THIRD-GENERATION MATERIAL FOR INTERNAL FIXATION.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the functional results from patients with surgical fractures in the thoracolumbar spine. METHOD: A prospective study including 100 patients with spinal fractures in the thoracic and lumbar segments was conducted. The lesions were classified in accordance with the AO system, and the patients were treated surgically. The presence of early kyphosis and its evolution after the surgical intervention, and the presence of postoperative pain and its evolution up to the 24(th) week after the surgery, were evaluated. We compared our data with the literature. RESULTS: One hundred surgical patients were analyzed, of which 37 were type A, 46 were type B and 17 were Type C. Patients who presented Frankel A kept their clinical status, but patients with Frankel B or higher evolved with some improvement. The average improvement in pain based on a visual analog scale was more than four points. All the patients were able to return to their daily routine activities, although we did not take the return to work to be an assessment criterion. CONCLUSION: Despite controversy regarding the indications for surgery in cases of fractured spine, we believe that the method that we used was satisfactory because of the good results and low complication rate. However, more randomized prospective studies with longer follow-up are needed in order to evaluate this type of fixation.