Volume 101 ·  Issue 45 ·  2021

For a long time, lumbar pedicle screw fixation and fusion has been regarded as the gold standard for the treatment of the lumbar spine degenerative diseases. However, in patients with osteoporosis, pedicle screw fixation often fails to obtain long-term satisfactory. In recent years, the emergence of cortical bone trajectory screw has become an alternative option for dealing with these problems. With the development of clinical and basic research, scholars have found that cortical bone screw internal fixation can help improve fixation strength, reduce surgical trauma, and accelerate postoperative recovery. Based on the current evidence-based research and clinical application experience, this article analyzes the research hotspots of cortical bone screws, introduces the experience and pitfalls in clinical practice, and provides references for colleagues.

At the beginning of clinical application, CBT technique was mainly used for lumbar degenerative diseases in Elderly Patients, and single or double segments of lower lumbar vertebrae accounted for the majority. With the technical proficiency and equipment improvement, the types of diseases continue to expand, and CBT technique can be used in conjunction with traditional pedicle screw technology, which plays an important role in the revision of adjacent segment disease and fixation in lumbar vertebrae of patients with severe osteoporosis. However, CBT technology has not been widely used, and there are still related problems that need to be clarified and further studied.

The latest clinical research shows that early decompressive craniectomy can effectively reduce the mortality and improve the functional prognosis of patients with massive cerebral infarction. Therefore, foreign countries have successively published relevant guidelines recommending surgical treatment for patients who meet the indications. In order to better guide the clinical practice of Chinese doctors, the Neurosurgery Branch of Chinese Medical Association organized multi-disciplinary experts, combined with relevant research results, referred to relevant foreign guidelines, based on the principles of evidence-based medicine and the current situation of clinical practice in China, to formulate the surgical treatment guidelines of large-area cerebral infarction, aiming at improving the attention of Chinese doctors to the surgical treatment of large-area cerebral infarction, and standardizing the intervention timing, indications, surgical methods and perioperative management of surgery.

In order to further strengthen the early prevention and treatment of cognitive impairment and solve many bottlenecks in the diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairment at present, this consensus recommends that the construction of digital memory clinic be carried out and gradually improved on the basis of traditional memory clinic, that is, in hospitals at all levels with standardized configuration, accurate and appropriate digital auxiliary equipment and electronic evaluation tools should be adopted to carry out centralized consultation, referral, diagnosis, intervention and follow-up for the potential risk groups of cognitive impairment, so as to improve the efficiency of diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairment.

To verify the safety and feasibility of sacral alar screw fixation and fusion surgery in lumbosacral area.

The clinical and radiological data of patients receiving L₅/S₁ single-level cortical bone trajectory screw combined with sacral alar screw decompression fixation and fusion in Beijing Chaoyang Hospital due to lumbar spinal stenosis from January 2019 to January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical data included operation duration, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage, pain and function scores during follow-up. The radiological data included preoperative and postoperative follow-up X-rays and three-dimensional reconstruction of lumbar spine CT. The fusion status and complication of internal fixation, such as screw loosening and fixation failure were evaluated by the radiological examination.

According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 16 patients (7 males and 9 females) were included, with an average age of (69.6±5.2) years. The patients were followed-up for (16.2±1.7) months. The average operation duration was (144±21) min, the intraoperative blood loss was (103±20) ml, and the postoperative drainage was (80±34) ml. The patient′s low back pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score was 6.8±1.0 before surgery, and it was improved to 0.9±0.7 at the last follow-up; leg pain VAS score was 6.1±0.9 before the operation and it improved to 0.9±0.7 at the last follow-up; Oswestry disability index (ODI) function score was 66.2%±8.0% before the surgery and it decreased to 26.6%±7.2% at the last follow-up. No neurological complications, surgical site infection, screw loosening, internal fixation failure or cage displacement were observed during the follow-up. The fusion rate was 68.8% (11/16) at 6 months post operation.

It is safe, feasible and effective to apply cortical screws combined with sacral alar screws in short-segment decompression, fixation and fusion surgery on the lumbosacral region to treat lumbosacral spinal stenosis.

To investigate the effect of the cortical bone trajectory (CBT) screw fixation combined with midline lumbar fusion (MIDLF) for adjacent spondylopathy after posterior lumbar interbody fusion.

A retrospective analysis was conducted in 16 patients, including 9 males and 7 females, with a mean age of (68±6) years, who underwent revision surgery for adjacent spondylopathy after posterior lumbar fusion surgery using CBT combined with MIDLF technology in Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University from May 2013 to August 2019. The reasons for revision were radiculalgia in 4 cases, intermittent claudication in 10 cases and protrusive dissociate in 2 cases. Eleven cases had 1 segment fused in the first operation, while the other 5 cases received fusion in 2 segments. The average interval time between the first operation and the revision operation was (7.5±2.0) years. For the levels underwent revision, 1 case was L_2/3, 6 cases were L_3/4, 7 cases were L_4/5 and 2 cases were L₅/S₁. Before the operation, all the patients took X-rays scans of the thoracic and lumbar spine. CT and MRI scans were also performed. The operation time, intraoperative bleeding, surgical complications, visual analog scale (VAS) of low back and leg pain before the operation and at each follow-up were all recorded. Oswestry disability index (ODI) questionnaire was used to evaluate the functional improvement of patients after the operation.

All operations were completed successfully. The operation time was 120-240 (170±30) mins, intraoperative bleeding was 100-280 (220±45) ml. One case had a slight split in the isthmus, and the screw was inserted smoothly after adjusting the insertion point. In one case, the cerebrospinal fluid leaked during the operation and was successfully treated with conservative methods including no pillow supine treatment and strengthened anti-infection. The average follow-up time was of (19.5±1.3) months. The VAS of low back pain was 2.9±1.7 before the operation and it was 1.8±0.5 at the last follow-up, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). The VAS of leg pain was 5.9±1.5 before the operation and it was 1.5±0.4 at the last the follow-up (P<0.01). The ODI score was 34.5±3.2 preoperatively and it decreased to 12.6±4.2 at the last follow-up, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01).

CBT technique combined with MIDLF for the adjacent-segment disease after posterior lumbar interbody fusion is minimally invasive and convenient, with good clinical effects. This technique can be used as an option for the revision of adjacent spondylopathy.

To explore the perioperative therapeutic effect of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in children with congenital spinal deformity and summarize the clinical experience.

Fifty-nine pediatric patients with congenital spinal deformities admitted to Beijing Children′s Hospital from May 2020 to January 2021 were included in this study, and all patients underwent posterior spinal osteotomy orthopedic implant fusion with internal fixation. There were 22 males and 37 females, aged (7.4±4.1) years. Patients were divided into ERAS group (n=29) and control group (n=30) according to the management model. Patients in the ERAS group were managed with an accelerated recovery management model during the perioperative period, which mainly included: high protein diet, shortened fasting time, optimized anesthesia protocol, and multimodal analgesia. Patients in the control group received the traditional perioperative management model. The indexes of surgery, diet, pain score and laboratory tests were compared between the two groups.

All patients completed the surgery successfully. The mean temperature and pain scores of patients in the ERAS group were lower than those in the control group at 3 days postoperatively (P<0.05). The time to exhaustion and defecation in the ERAS group was (1.0±0.8) d and (2.5±0.9) d postoperatively, both significantly earlier than those in the control group ((3.4±0.8) d and (4.0±1.1) d) (bothP<0.05). C-reactive protein was 38(8,46) mg/L in patients of the ERAS group on the day 3 postoperatively, which was significantly lower than that in the control group 47(22,93) mg/L (P=0.023). The hemoglobin level on postoperative day 3 was (110.7±9.6) g/L in the ERAS group, which was significantly higher than that in the control group ((104.5±11.4) g/L) (P=0.029). Postoperative complications occurred in 8(27.6%) and 9(30.0%) patients in the ERAS and control groups, respectively (P=1.000), with mild abdominal pain and bloating being the most common complications in both groups, most of which were not treated specifically.

ERAS is a safe and effective perioperative management mode for children with congenital spinal deformity. Compared with the traditional method, it can significantly improve the treatment efficiency and deserve clinical application.

To assess the therapeutic effect of the early interdisciplinary palliative care based on WARM model (whole, assessment, revaluation, management) on the quality of life, psychological state, pain and nutritional status in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

A total of 60 patients from Chongqing University Cancer Hospital with newly diagnosed advanced NSCLC from Oct 15, 2019 to Jun 12, 2020 were enrolled. According to the method of random number table, the patients were divided into two groups: standard oncologic care group (SC, n=30) and early palliative care group (EPC, n=30). SC group only received standard oncological care, while EPC group received standard oncological care and additional comprehensive treatment from a MDT consisted of medical oncologists, palliative care nurses, dietitians and psychologists. The quality of life [functional assessment of cancer therapy-lung (FACT-L) scale], psychological state [hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) and patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)], nutritional status [patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA)], and cancer pain status [numerical rating scale (NRS)] were observed and compared between the two groups before and after the 6 months treatment, respectively.

A total of 45 patients completed 6 months treatment, including 24 males and 21 females, aged 38-82 (60.5±1.7), with 23 patients in the EPC group and 22 patients in the SC group. Patients assigned to EPC group had a better quality of life than those assigned to SC group [FACT-L scale: (122.3±1.6) vs (111.8±2.1), P<0.001]. Fewer patients had anxiety and depressive symptoms in the EPC group than those in the SC group [HADS anxiety subscale: (1.1±0.3) vs (2.9±0.4),P<0.001; HADS depression subscale: (0.7±0.3) vs (3.6±0.4),P<0.001]. The PHQ-9 results showed that 100.0% (23/23) patients were free of depression in the EPC group, while 45.5% (10/22) patients were free of depression in SC group (P<0.001). Furthermore, patients in the EPC group had a better nutritional status [moderate malnutrition: 60.9% (14/23); no malnutrition: 39.1% (9/23)] than those in the SC group [severe malnutrition: 40.9% (9/22); moderate malnutrition: 50.0% (11/22); no malnutrition: 9.1% (2/22)] (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in NRS score between EPC group and SC group (P=0.140).

Early interdisciplinary palliative care based on WARM model can improve the quality of life, psychological state and nutritional status in NSCLC patients.

To evaluate the differential diagnostic performance of quantitative parameters derived from the spectral CT imagingin pure ground-glass nodules.

A total of 44 patients with pure ground glass nodules underwent chest energy spectrum CT and with known subsequently pathological findings in the Imaging Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from August 2017 to September 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, there are 18 males and 26 females, aged from 26 to 79 (51±12) years. They were divided into as the inflammatory group (n=12), pre-invasive adenocarcinoma group (n=17) and invasive adenocarcinoma group (n=15). The aforementioned three groups were further reclassified as non-invasive adenocarcinoma group (inflammatory lesion+pre-invasive lesion) and invasive adenocarcinoma group in order to evaluating the values of water concentration (WC) for the determination of adenocarcinoma infiltration status. The values of WC derived from the arterial and venous phase of the lesion, iodine concentration (IC), standardized iodine concentration (NIC) were measured respectively.The slope of the energy spectral curve (K_40-70KeV) derived from the arterial and venous phase of the lesion was also calculated. One-way ANOVA analysis was performed to compare the differences of the three groups and the multiple comparison method was used for further comparing. Intraclass correlation efficient (ICC) was used to assess the consistency of the three times of measurements. The area under curve(AUC) of Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic performance of water based values.

The values of WC in the arterial and venous phases were significantly different. As in the inflammatory group, the pre-invasive lesion group and the invasive adenocarcinoma group, the values of WC was (291.95±58.66) mg/cm³, (297.61±63.96) mg/cm³and (374.52±60.62) mg/cm³ of the arterial phase, and (277.07±33.78) mg/cm³, (291.74±50.49) mg/cm³ and (373.33±75.12) mg/cm³ of the venous phase, respectively(all P<0.05). Further comparison demonstrated that no significant difference was observed for the values of WC derived from the arterial phases and venous phases between the inflammatory lesion group and the pre-invasive lesion group (allP>0.05).There were an significant differences between the invasive adenocarcinoma group, the inflammatory lesion group and the pre-invasive lesion group (allP<0.05). The values of WC derived from the venous phase achieved the largest AUC (0.770) for differentiating invasive adenocarcinoma from non-invasive adenocarcinoma (inflammatory lesions+pre-invasive lesions) in the pure ground glass nodules. The sensitivity and specificity were 66.67% and 93.10%, respectively, when using 349.31 mg/cm³ as the optimal threshold. The slope of the spectral curve and iodine-related parameters (IC, NIC) derived from arterial or venous phases among the three groups were not significantly different (allP>0.05).

The values of WC derived from the spectral CT can better distinguish inflammatory, pre-invasive lesions and invasive adenocarcinoma, which is helpful for the qualitative analysis for pure ground glass nodules.

To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the Chinese Ultrasound Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (C-TIRADS) in thyroid nodules,and to compare it with the TIRADS proposed by Kwak et al. (K-TIRADS) and the TIRADS proposed by the American College of Radiology (ACR-TIRADS).

The data of 1 750 patients with 2 029 thyroid nodules in the Department of Thyroid Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University from January 2018 to November 2020 was retrospectively collected. Among them, there were 328 males and 1 422 females,aged from 6 to 86 with an average of (47±12) years. The nodules were divided into≤1.0 cm group(n=997) and>1.0 cm group(n=1 032)based on the size of the nodules. The stratification for malignant risk and the determination of benign or malignancy of the nodules was evaluated using the C-TIRADS, K-TIRADS and ACR-TIRADS, respectively. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC)curve analysis was performed to compare the diagnostic performance of the aforementioned three kinds of TIRADS using pathological results as the referent standard.

The optimal diagnosis points in the determination of malignant nodules of C-TIRADS, K-TIRADS and ACR-TIRADS in the two groups were 4A, 4b and 4 respectively according to ROC curve analysis. For the diagnosis of the malignant nodules, the C-TIRADS achieved with an AUC value of 0.772 and 0.892 in the ≤1.0 cm group and>1.0 cm group, respectively, which was significantly higher than K-TIRADS (AUC= 0.762 and 0.869, respectively) and ACR-TIRADS (AUC= 0.735 and 0.832, respectively) (P<0.05). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of C-TIRADS were 94.99%, 59.41%, 86.46%, 88.13%, 78.89% (≤1.0 cm group)and 88.34%, 90.05%, 89.34%, 86.33%, 91.57%(>1.0 cm group), respectively. C-TIRADS had the highest sensitivity, accuracy, and negative predictive value in the determination of malignant nodules in both groups compared to the other two kinds of TIRADS.

The three kinds of TIRADS all have high diagnostic performance for the determination of the malignant nodules, and the C-TIRADS has the best overall efficacy, which can effectively assist clinicians for medical decision, and is worth to be popularized and applied in the clinical setting.

Based on the 2014 version of the International Association of Urological Pathology (ISUP) pathological classification standards, a prediction model that can predict the pathological classification of ISUP ≥2 in patients with prostate cancer (PCa) before radical prostatectomy (RP) was established and evaluated.

The clinical data of 171 patients who had undergone RP from January 2017 to September 2020 in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University and obtained postoperative pathological results of all specimens were retrospectively collected. The patients were 46-83 (70±7) years old. For patients with RP ISUP pathologic stage as the gold standard, according to the pathological grading is level 2 or higher is divided into two groups(42 patients with ISUP grade=1 and 129 patients with ISUP grade ≥2). the predictors of ISUP pathology grade ≥2 after RP were screened by logistics regression analysis, predictive models were established and ROC curves were used to evaluate the efficacy of each model in diagnosing RP with pathological grade ≥2, and comparisons were conducted by DeLong test.

Compared with patients with ISUP grade=1, patients with ISUP grade≥2 had higher prostate specific antigen (PSA) and prostate specific antigen density (PSAD) (14.21(8.57, 24.98)ng/ml vs 7.98(5.41, 12.54)ng/ml, 0.33(0.20, 0.74)μg.L^-1.ml^-1 vs 0.16(0.12, 0.24)μg.L^-1.ml^-1), lower prostate volume (PV) (48.62(34.17,73.99)ml vs 38.94(28.15,54.84)ml)(all P<0.05). Multi-parameter magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) prostate imaging and reporting system (PI-RADS) score, the positive ratio of puncture needles and the pathological grade of puncture ISUP were also significantly different between the two groups (allP<0.05). The combined mp-MRI PI-RADS score (OR=3.337, 95%CI: 1.990-5.593, P<0.001) and puncture ISUP pathological grading (OR=4.041, 95%CI: 1.960-8.334, P<0.001) had the highest diagnostic efficacy for pathological grading ≥2 after RP (AUC=0.916,P<0.05).

The combined mp-MRI PI-RADS score and puncture ISUP pathological grading had the highest diagnostic efficacy for pathological grading ≥2 after RP.

This paper reports a severe case of a 1 year 2 month old infant with massive venous vascular malformation of left neck, chest and axilla with internal hemorrhage, and introduces the surgical methods and treatment process. Detailed, accurate and timely judgment of the severity and changing trend of the disease, evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of surgical treatment, combined with multidisciplinary consultation, and formulation of individualized treatment plan can ensure a good prognosis of patients.

Cortical bone trajectory (CBT) screw technology has been widely recognized since its introduction for its advantages of biomechanical stability, small incision, less dissection of posterior soft tissue and fast postoperative rehabilitation. CBT screw technique uses CBT screws for fixation, whose tip thread pitch is closer than the tail end, increasing the contact area between the screw and the cortical bone. In recent years, it has been widely used in osteoporosis, lumbar revision, adjacent vertebral body diseases and other spinal surgical diseases. This article will summarize the surgical technique, extended application, biomechanical characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of CBT screw technology.

In order to investigate the effect of intravertebral screw insertion depth on lumbar fusion, Keitaro Matsukawa et al. from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Musashi Murayama Medical Center National Hospital, Tokyo, Japan, performed L_4/5Imaging and clinical data were studied in patients undergoing single-level posterior lumbar intervertebral fusion with cortical bone trajectory (CBT) screws (mean follow-up 32.9 months). The screw loosening and intervertebral fusion during the follow-up period were evaluated by imaging data, and the related influencing factors were analyzed. Influencing factors were included as follows: age, sex, body mass index, bone mineral density, intervertebral mobility, screw diameter, screw length, depth of screw in vertebral body (%), arthroplasty, transverse connection and cage material.

Because the traditional pedicle screw insertion point is located outside the articular process, a relatively large exposure area is required, and the adduction screw tract is close to the central nerve and the anterior vasculature. Although most pedicle screw misplacement does not cause serious systemic complications clinically, 60% to 80% of the screw stability comes from cortical bone with denser pedicle. Because cancellous bone is more susceptible to osteoporosis, intravertebral pedicle screw fixation strength is often affected in patients with low bone mineral density (BMD). In view of these limitations, Alexander A Rosinski et al. discussed and analyzed the techniques that can be used to achieve stable lumbar fixation in addition to traditional pedicle screws through literature review and summary.