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BackgroundAs of May 4, 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected >3.5 million people and touched every inhabited continent. Accordingly, it has stressed health systems worldwide, leading to the cancellation of elective surgical cases and discussions regarding health care resource rationing. It is expected that rationing of surgical resources will continue even after the pandemic peak and may recur with future pandemics, creating a need for a means of triaging patients for emergent and elective spine surgery.MethodsUsing a modified Delphi technique, a cohort of 16 fellowship-trained spine surgeons from 10 academic medical centers constructed a scoring system for the triage and prioritization of emergent and elective spine surgeries. Three separate rounds of videoconferencing and written correspondence were used to reach a final scoring system. Sixteen test cases were used to optimize the scoring system so that it could categorize cases as requiring emergent, urgent, high-priority elective, or low-priority elective scheduling.ResultsThe devised scoring system included 8 independent components: neurologic status, underlying spine stability, presentation of a high-risk postoperative complication, patient medical comorbidities, expected hospital course, expected discharge disposition, facility resource limitations, and local disease burden. The resultant calculator was deployed as a freely available Web-based calculator (https://jhuspine3.shinyapps.io/SpineUrgencyCalculator/).ConclusionsWe present the first quantitative urgency scoring system for the triage and prioritizing of spine surgery cases in resource-limited settings. We believe that our scoring system, although not all encompassing, has potential value as a guide for triaging spine surgical cases during the COVID pandemic and post-COVID period.

Direct wave (D-wave) intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) is used during intramedullary spinal cord tumor (IMSCT) resection to assess corticospinal tract (CST) integrity. There are several obstacles to obtaining consistent and reliable D-wave monitoring and modifications to standard IONM procedures may improve surgical resection. We present the case of a subependymoma IMSCT resection at the T2–T6 spinal levels where subdural D-wave monitoring was implemented. A 47-year-old male was presented with a five-year history of numbness in his right foot eventually worsening to sharp upper back pain with increased lower extremity spasticity. MRI revealed an expansile non-contrast enhancing multi-loculated cystic lesion spanning T2–T6 as well as a separate T1–T2 lesion. A T2–T6 laminoplasty was performed for intramedullary resection of the lesion. A spinal electrode was placed in the epidural space caudal to the surgical site to monitor CST function; however, action potentials could not be obtained. Post durotomy, the electrode was placed in the subdural space under direct visualization. This resulted in a reliable D-wave recording, which assisted surgical decision-making during the procedure upon D-wave and limb motor evoked potential attenuation. Surgical intervention led to the recovery of the D-wave recording. Subdural D-wave monitoring serves as an alternative in patients where reliable D-waves from the epidural space are unable to be obtained. Further investigation is required to improve the recording technique, including exploring various types of contacts and lead placement locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we identified the risk factors for wound complications, wound infection, and reoperation for wound complications after spine metastasis surgery and deployed the resultant model as a web-based calculator. Patients treated at a single comprehensive cancer center during a 7-year period were included. The demographics, pathology, comorbidities, laboratory values, and operative details were collected. Factors with P < 0.15 on univariable regression were entered into multivariable logistic regression to generate predictive models internally validated using 1000 bootstrapped samples. Of the 330 patients included, 29 (7.6%) had experienced a surgical site infection. The independent predictive factors for wound-related complications were a higher Charlson comorbidity index (CCI; odds ratio [OR], 1.41 per point; P < 0.01), Karnofsky performance scale score ≤70 (OR, 2.14; P = 0.04), lower platelet count (OR, 0.49 per 105/μL; P < 0.01), revision versus index surgery (OR, 3.10; P = 0.02), and increased incision length (OR, 1.21 per level; P = 0.02). Wound infection was associated with a higher CCI (OR, 1.60 per point; P < 0.01), a lower platelet count (OR, 0.35 per 105/μL; P < 0.01), revision surgery (OR, 4.63; P = 0.01), and a longer incision length (OR, 1.25 per level; P = 0.03). Unplanned reoperation for wound complications was predicted by a higher CCI (OR, 1.39 per point; P = 0.003), prior irradiation (OR, 2.52; P = 0.04), a lower platelet count (OR, 0.57 per 105/μL; P = 0.02), and revision surgery (OR, 3.34; P = 0.03), The optimism-corrected areas under the curve were 0.75, 0.81, and 0.72 for the wound complication, infection, and reoperation models, respectively. Low platelet counts, poorer health status, more invasive surgery, and revision surgery all independently predicted the risk of wound complications, including infection and unplanned reoperation for infection. Validation of the calculators in a prospective study is merited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As of May 4, 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected >3.5 million people and touched every inhabited continent. Accordingly, it has stressed health systems worldwide, leading to the cancellation of elective surgical cases and discussions regarding health care resource rationing. It is expected that rationing of surgical resources will continue even after the pandemic peak and may recur with future pandemics, creating a need for a means of triaging patients for emergent and elective spine surgery. Using a modified Delphi technique, a cohort of 16 fellowship-trained spine surgeons from 10 academic medical centers constructed a scoring system for the triage and prioritization of emergent and elective spine surgeries. Three separate rounds of videoconferencing and written correspondence were used to reach a final scoring system. Sixteen test cases were used to optimize the scoring system so that it could categorize cases as requiring emergent, urgent, high-priority elective, or low-priority elective scheduling. The devised scoring system included 8 independent components: neurologic status, underlying spine stability, presentation of a high-risk postoperative complication, patient medical comorbidities, expected hospital course, expected discharge disposition, facility resource limitations, and local disease burden. The resultant calculator was deployed as a freely available Web-based calculator (https://jhuspine3.shinyapps.io/SpineUrgencyCalculator/). We present the first quantitative urgency scoring system for the triage and prioritizing of spine surgery cases in resource-limited settings. We believe that our scoring system, although not all encompassing, has potential value as a guide for triaging spine surgical cases during the COVID pandemic and post-COVID period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Design: An automatic radiographic labeling algorithm called "LevelCheck" was analyzed as a means of decision support for target localization in spine surgery. The potential clinical utility and scenarios in which LevelCheck is likely to be the most beneficial were assessed in a retrospective clinical data set (398 cases) in terms of expert consensus from a multi-reader study (three spine surgeons).Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential utility of the LevelCheck algorithm for vertebrae localization.Summary Of Background Data: Three hundred ninety-eight intraoperative radiographs and 178 preoperative computed tomographic (CT) images for patients undergoing spine surgery in cervical, thoracic, lumbar regions.Methods: Vertebral labels annotated in preoperative CT image were overlaid on intraoperative radiographs via 3D-2D registration. Three spine surgeons assessed the radiographs and LevelCheck labeling according to a questionnaire evaluating performance, utility, and suitability to surgical workflow. Geometric accuracy and registration run time were measured for each case.Results: LevelCheck was judged to be helpful in 42.2% of the cases (168/398), to improve confidence in 30.6% of the cases (122/398), and in no case diminished performance (0/398), supporting its potential as an independent check and assistant to decision support in spine surgery. The clinical contexts for which the method was judged most likely to be beneficial included the following scenarios: images with a lack of conspicuous anatomical landmarks; level counting across long spine segments; vertebrae obscured by other anatomy (e.g., shoulders); poor radiographic image quality; and anatomical variations/abnormalities. The method demonstrated 100% geometric accuracy (i.e., overlaid labels within the correct vertebral level in all cases) and did not introduce ambiguity in image interpretation.Conclusion: LevelCheck is a potentially useful means of decision support in vertebral level localization in spine surgery.Level Of Evidence: N/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]