Does pedicle screw fixation under age 5 cause spinal canal narrowing? A CT study with minimum 5 years follow-up

Purpose

The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the changes in the vertebral body and spinal canal area in a group of patients who had pedicle screw fixation under age 5 for the treatment of congenital spinal deformity at least 5 year follow-up.

Methods

11 patients who had been operated due to spinal deformity under age 5 with who had a CT examination at least 5 years after the initial operation were included in the study. All patients underwent hemivertebrectomy and transpedicular fixation procedures at an average age of 3.18 years (range 2–5 years). All had preoperative CT to evaluate the congenital deformities. Measurements were done at the instrumented vertebrae as well as the un-instrumented ones above and below them to evaluate; vertebral body parameters, pedicle parameters and spinal canal area of upper instrumented vertebra (UIV), lower instrumented vertebra (LIV), upper adjacent un-instrumented vertebra and lower adjacent un-instrumented vertebra.

Results

The average follow-up was 7.2 (range 5–12) years. Six of the patients were over age 10 during the final CT examination while 5 were at age 7. Female-to male ratio was 8–3. Measurement of all the parameters in 22 instrumented and 22 non-instrumented segments showed a proportional increase rather than a decrease at each segment. The percentage of canal area growth at UIV and LIV was 21 and 17.5 %, respectively.

Conclusion

Pedicle screw instrumentation has no adverse effect on further spinal body, pedicle and canal growth and does not result in iatrogenic spinal canal stenosis.

     

Solitary bone metastasis in the tibia as a presenting sign of endometrial adenocarcinoma: a case report and the review of the literature

Background Metastasis to bone from endometrial adenocarcinoma is rare, when metastasises it usually locates in axial skeleton. Metastasis to extremities is extremely rare. Additionally the detection of the bone metastasis as a presenting feature is uncommon. In the present study we report the 10th cases of bone metastasis in the literature which located at tibial diaphysis and originated from endometrial adenocarcinoma as a presenting feature of the primary disease. Case Single tibial lesion was observed in a 70 years old woman. Biopsy confirmed metastatic adenocarcinoma of the unknown origin. We couldn’t find the primary origin with aggressive work-up. Tibial lesion regressed with radiotherapy. Endometrial adenocarcinoma is detected after the end of disease-free one year with the symptom of vaginal bleeding. After 47 months from initial tibial lesion and 35 months from gynaecologic operation, patient is still alive and disease free. Discussion Patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma presenting an isolated skeletal metastasis may exhibit an unusual group with a better prognosis. This study was presented as a poster exhibition at the 5th Meeting of Asia-Pasific Musculo Skeletal Tumour Society held between 23 and 25, April 2004, Izmir, Turkey.     

The effect of Ramadan fasting on kidney function in patients with chronic kidney disease

International Urology and Nephrology - Because of the increase in globalization, clinicians all over the world are confronted the questions about safety of Ramadan fasting. However, there is no...     

A case report of doxycycline induced esophageal and gastric ulcer.

It is well-established that various drugs can induce esophageal and gastric mucosal injury. Generally neither motility disorder nor an anatomical stricture is found in such cases and the cause of mucosal injury is usually found to be inadequate fluid intake with medicine or consumption just prior to bedtime. Athough there are some case reports of doxycycline induced esophageal mucosal injury, doxycycline induced gastric ulcer has been reported only once in the literature. In this case report, a 33 year old female patient who had been prescribed doxycycline for pelvic inflammatory disease is presented. She was admitted with retrosternal and epigastric pain and odynophagia, which had begun after taking the second oral dose of the drug. Endoscopic examination showed ulcers in the mid esophagus and fundus of the stomach. Histologic findings supported a drug induced etiology in these ulcers. This is only the second case in the literature where gastric ulcer has been caused by doxycycline.     

The burden of amyloidosis on the gastrointestinal tract of an ankylosing spondylitis patient

We present a 26-year-old man with edema, ascites and bloody diarrhea that later proved to be due to gastrointestinal and renal amyloidosis. Interestingly, he was also diagnosed as having ankylosing spondylitis,-possibly after a delay of 12 years. The obscure diagnosis and challenging treatment of secondary amyloidosis are further discussed.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material (with figures in color) is available in the online version of this article at .Abbreviations AS ankylosing spondylitis     

Tratamiento efectivo de la hemoptisis mediante aplicación endobronquial del hemostásico Ankaferd

Hemoptysis is symptomatic of potentially serious and life-threatening chest disease and requires urgent evaluation and treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hemostatic efficacy of endobronchial application of Ankaferd Blood Stopper^® (ABS) solution in patients with hemoptysis.