Index radiographic measurements in the prediction of progression in infantile idiopathic scoliosis: a comparative analysis and description of a novel predictive model.

Purpose: To assess the comparative accuracy of commonly utilised index radiological measurements in the prognosis of infantile idiopathic scoliosis (IIS) and build a parsimonious prognostic model utilising these measurements.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of a UK population of patients with IIS. Index radiological parameters were analysed, and outcome of their condition was determined over long-term follow-up.

Long-term follow-up of patients with infantile idiopathic scoliosis: is the rib vertebra angle difference (RVAD) a reliable indicator of evolution?

Purpose: Since its original description by Mehta, the rib vertebra angle difference (RVAD) and, in particular, a threshold of 20° have become an accepted and widely utilised prognostic indicator in the assessment of patients presenting with an infantile idiopathic scoliosis (IIS). However, uncertainty in the utility of the RVAD in the prognosis of IIS remains. The aims of this study were to investigate the prognostic significance of the RVAD and to describe the changes in RVAD over long-term follow-up of patients with progressive and resolving IIS.

Counting the Cost of Failed Spinal Fusion for Relief of Low Back Pain: Does Primary Fusion With Bone Morphogenetic Protein Make Economic Sense From a Primary Payer Perspective?

Study Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: To investigate the unknown direct costs of failed instrumented lumbar fusion using iliac crest bone graft (ICBG) and subsequent reoperation utilizing recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) from a primary payer perspective.

Summary Of Background Data: Recent evidence has demonstrated increased rates of instrumented lumbar fusion and utilization of rhBMP-2 to treat a range of conditions causing lower back pain.

Optic neuropathy secondary to eosinophilic angiocentric fibrosis.

Eosinophilic angiocentric fibrosis (EAF) is a rare fibroinflammatory disorder with a predilection for upper respiratory tract submucosa. We report a 45-year-old man with progressive unilateral visual loss secondary to a retroorbital soft tissue mass with histological features consistent with EAF. The patient experienced marked improvement in vision after endoscopic optic nerve decompression through sphenoethmoidectomy.