Risk factors for implant removal after spinal surgical site infection.

Purpose: Few studies have investigated the risk factors for implant removal after treatment for spinal surgical site infection (SSI). Therefore, there is no firmly established consensus for the management of implants. We aimed to investigate the incidence and risk factors for implant removal after SSI managed with instrumentation, and to examine potential strategies for avoiding implant removal.

A multi-center study of reoperations within 30 days of spine surgery.

Purpose: To investigate the incidence and causes of reoperations within 30 days of spine surgery.

Methods: Patients who underwent spine surgery between 2002 and 2012, at one of 9 institutions, were enrolled. The causes of all reoperations, within 30 days of the index surgery, were reviewed.

[Home oxygen therapy for terminal lung cancer cases].

Home oxygen therapy (HOT) was introduced as part of the terminal care of 52 lung cancer patients attending our hospital from 1997 to 2000, all of whom subsequently died from their illnesses. We administered a questionnaire about HOT to their bereaved family members. The results confirmed that many of those interviewed thought that HOT improved their quality of life, but probably made the patients more aware of the progression of their disease.