Temporal Changes in PROMs Improvement and Recovery Kinetics Following Transforaminal Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: to analyze trends in PROMs improvement and recovery kinetics following transforaminal endoscopic lumbar discectomy and foraminotomy (TELD).

Summary Of Background Data: As TELDs become an increasingly common alternative to fusions for lateral disc herniations, it is important to understand patients' postoperative recovery timelines to manage patient expectations.

The role of extradiaphragmatic muscles' ultrasound on the diagnosis and follow-up of diaphragmatic dysfunction associated with cervical septic arthritis: A case report and literature review.

Cervical septic arthritis can lead to complications such as epidural abscess, which may result in respiratory failure. We present a case of a 78-year-old male with cervical septic arthritis complicated by epidural abscess, leading to severe diaphragm dysfunction. Ultrasound evaluation revealed dysfunction of the left hemidiaphragm and compensatory activation of accessory respiratory muscles.

Exploring ultrasonographic diaphragmatic function in perioperative anesthesia setting: A comprehensive narrative review.

The ultrasound study of diaphragm function represents a valid method that has been extensively studied in recent decades in various fields, especially in intensive care, emergency, and pulmonology settings. Diaphragmatic function is pivotal in these contexts due to its crucial role in respiratory mechanics, ventilation support strategies, and overall patient respiratory outcomes. Dysfunction or weakness of the diaphragm can lead to respiratory failure, ventilatory insufficiency, and prolonged mechanical ventilation, making its assessment essential for patient management and prognosis in critical care and emergency medicine.

Should the pelvis be included? An analysis of distal junctional failure risk factors in correcting adult spinal deformity in women with fusion to L5.

Purpose: To identify the risk factors for distal junctional failure (DJF) in women treated for adult spine deformity with fusion to L5 and to highlight the significance of preoperative assessment, surgical decision-making, and postoperative care.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of data collected prospectively on the local institutional spine surgery registry (2016-2021). All patients, women older than 18 years, with a diagnosis of adult spine deformity who underwent long posterior instrumentation to L5 and had a minimum of 2-years follow-up were included in the study (two groups: with or without DJF).

Presepsin in Critical Illness: Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives.

The accurate identification of infections is critical for effective treatment in intensive care units (ICUs), yet current diagnostic methods face limitations in sensitivity and specificity, alongside cost and accessibility issues. Consequently, there is a pressing need for a marker that is economically feasible, rapid, and reliable. Presepsin (PSP), also known as soluble CD14 subtype (sCD14-ST), has emerged as a promising biomarker for early sepsis diagnosis.

Managing Severe Cancer Pain with Oxycodone/Naloxone Treatment: A Literature Review Update.

Severe cancer pain substantially affects patients' quality of life, increasing the burden of the disease and reducing the disability-adjusted life years. Although opioid analgesics are effective, they may induce opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OIBD). Oxycodone/naloxone combination therapy has emerged as a promising approach to mitigate opioid-induced constipation (OIC) while providing effective pain relief.

A Secondary Retrospective Analysis of the Predictive Value of Neutrophil-Reactive Intensity (NEUT-RI) in Septic and Non-Septic Patients in Intensive Care.

Background: Effective identification and management in the early stages of sepsis are critical for achieving positive outcomes. In this context, neutrophil-reactive intensity (NEUT-RI) emerges as a promising and easily interpretable parameter. This study aimed to assess the predictive value of NEUT-RI in diagnosing sepsis and to evaluate its prognostic significance in distinguishing 28-day mortality outcomes.

Pericapsular nerve group block and lateral femoral cutaneous nerve block versus fascia iliaca block for multimodal analgesia after total hip replacement surgery: A retrospective analysis.

Background: Optimal pain control with limited muscle weakness is paramount for a swift initiation of physical therapy and early discharge. Fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) has been recommended since it offers good pain control with a low risk of motor block. Pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block with lateral femoral cutaneous block (LFCN) has been proposed as an effective alternative to FICB that offers better pain control with a considerably lower risk of motor block.

Orthobiologics in delayed union and non-union of adult long bones fractures: A systematic review.

Background: Fracture healing poses a significant challenge in orthopedics. Successful regeneration of bone is provided by mechanical stability and a favorable biological microenvironment. This systematic review aims to explore the clinical application of orthobiologics in treating aseptic delayed union and non-union of long bones in adults.

Foot drop in critically ill patients: a narrative review of an elusive complication with intricate implications for recovery and rehabilitation.

Foot drop is a condition characterized by the inability to lift the foot upwards towards the shin bone. This condition may affect a proportion of critically ill patients, impacting on their recovery after the acute phase of the illness. The occurrence of foot drop in critical care patients may result from various underlying causes, including neurological injuries, muscular dysfunction, nerve compression, or vascular compromise.

Factors associated with increased length of stay and risk of complications in 336 patients submitted to spine surgery. The role of a validated capture system (SAVES v2) as a first-line tool to properly face the problem.

Purpose: In this study, we analyzed the use of a validated capture system (Spinal Adverse Events Severity system, SAVES V2) as a first non-technical skill to properly face the relevant problem of surgical complications (SCs) and adverse events (AEs) in spinal surgery.

Methods: We retrospectively collected AEs occurring in a tertiary referral center for spine surgery from January 2017 to January 2018 and classified them according to SAVES V2 system. We compared this collection of AEs with a prospective collection performed without any classification system.

Diagnostic Approach and Differences between Spinal Infections and Tumors.

Study Design: A systematic review of the literature about differential diagnosis between spine infection and bone tumors of the spine.

Background And Purpose: The differential diagnosis between spine infection and bone tumors of the spine can be misled by the prevalence of one of the conditions over the other in different areas of the world. A review of the existing literature on suggestive or even pathognomonic imaging aspects of both can be very useful for correctly orientating the diagnosis and deciding the most appropriate area for biopsy.

The Potential Role of Neutrophil-Reactive Intensity (NEUT-RI) in the Diagnosis of Sepsis in Critically Ill Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

The diagnosis of sepsis is often difficult and belated, substantially increasing mortality in affected patients. Its early identification allows for us to choose the most appropriate therapies in the shortest time, improving patients' outcomes and eventually their survival. Since neutrophil activation is an indicator of an early innate immune response, the aim of the study was to evaluate the role of Neutrophil-Reactive Intensity (NEUT-RI), which is an indicator of their metabolic activity, in the diagnosis of sepsis.

A novel less invasive endoscopic-assisted procedure for complete reduction of low-and high-grade isthmic spondylolisthesis performed by anterior and posterior combined approach.

Purpose: The optimal surgical management of low- and high-grade isthmic spondylolisthesis (LGS and HGS -IS) is debated as well as whether reduction is needed especially for high-grade spondylolisthesis. Both anterior and posterior techniques can be associated with mechanical disadvantages as hardware failure with loss of reduction and L5 injury. We purpose a novel endoscopic-assisted technique (Sled technique, ST) to achieve a complete reduction in two surgical steps: first anteriorly through a retroperitoneal approach to obtain the greatest part of correction and then posteriorly to complete reduction in the same operation.

Long spine fusions to the sacrum-pelvis are associated with greater post-operative proximal junctional kyphosis angle in sitting position.

Study Design: A single-centre retrospective study.

Background And Purpose: Although adult patients spend most of their time in sitting positions, the assessment of spinopelvic parameters in adult deformity surgery is commonly performed in standing X-rays. Our study compares the standing and sitting sagittal alignment parameters in subjects who underwent thoracolumbar fusion.

Equilibrium and nonequilibrium description of negative temperature states in a one-dimensional lattice using a wave kinetic approach.

We predict negative temperature states in the discrete nonlinear Schödinger (DNLS) equation as exact solutions of the associated wave kinetic equation. Within the wave kinetic approach, we define an entropy that results monotonic in time and reaches a stationary state, that is consistent with classical equilibrium statistical mechanics. We also perform a detailed analysis of the fluctuations of the actions at fixed wave numbers around their mean values.

Effects of Spinal Anesthesia in Geriatric Hip Fracture: A Propensity-Matched Study.

Objectives: To identify whether anesthesia type is associated with surgical outcomes in geriatric patients undergoing operative treatment for a hip fracture.

Design: Retrospective database review of prospectively collected data.

Patients: Patients included in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database.

Adoptive immunotherapy with double-bright (CD56 /CD16 ) expanded natural killer cells in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukaemia: a proof-of-concept study.

Patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) have a five-year survival rate of 28·7%. Natural killer (NK)-cell have anti-leukaemic activity. Here, we report on a series of 13 patients with high-risk R/R AML, treated with repeated infusions of double-bright (CD56 /CD16 ) expanded NK cells at an academic centre in Brazil.

Surgery Versus Radiofrequency Ablation in the Management of Spinal Osteoid Osteomas: A Spine Oncology Referral Center Comparison Analysis of 138 Cases.

Background: Osteoid osteomas (OOs) are benign bone forming tumors that, usually, occur in the extremities, with about 10% of them arising in the spine more commonly in the posterior elements. The aim of this study is to evaluate the long-term results of patients suffering from spinal OO treated with surgery and radiofrequency ablation.

Methods: This was a retrospective comparison analysis of data prospectively collected from 2 cohorts of consecutive patients diagnosed with OO of the spine treated at the same Institute from November 2002 to February 2019.

Human NK cell deficiency as a result of biallelic mutations in MCM10.

Human natural killer cell deficiency (NKD) arises from inborn errors of immunity that lead to impaired NK cell development, function, or both. Through the understanding of the biological perturbations in individuals with NKD, requirements for the generation of terminally mature functional innate effector cells can be elucidated. Here, we report a cause of NKD resulting from compound heterozygous mutations in minichromosomal maintenance complex member 10 (MCM10) that impaired NK cell maturation in a child with fatal susceptibility to CMV.

Disease-associated CTNNBL1 mutation impairs somatic hypermutation by decreasing nuclear AID.

Patients with common variable immunodeficiency associated with autoimmune cytopenia (CVID+AIC) generate few isotype-switched B cells with severely decreased frequencies of somatic hypermutations (SHMs), but their underlying molecular defects remain poorly characterized. We identified a CVID+AIC patient who displays a rare homozygous missense M466V mutation in β-catenin-like protein 1 (CTNNBL1). Because CTNNBL1 binds activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) that catalyzes SHM, we tested AID interactions with the CTNNBL1 M466V variant.

An Experimental Study Comparing the Expansion of Peripheral Blood Natural Killer (NK) Cells Cultured with Artificial Antigen-Presenting Cells, in the Presence or Absence of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs).

NK cells have been seen as potential agents in adoptive immunotherapy for cancer. The main challenge for the success of this approach is to obtain a great quantity of activated NK cells for adoptive transfer. The present study had aimed to evaluate the effect of a feeder layer of irradiated MSCs in the in vitro expansion of NK cells.

Impact of triage-to-admission time on patient outcome in European intensive care units: A prospective, multi-national study.

Purpose: Ubiquitous bed shortages lead to delays in intensive care unit (ICU) admissions worldwide. Assessing the impact of delayed admission must account for illness severity. This study examined both the relationship between triage-to-admission time and 28-day mortality and the impact of controlling for Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II scores on that relationship.

Donor characteristics and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation outcome: experience of a single center in Southern Brazil.

Background: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a curative treatment for many patients with hematological disorders. Donor-recipient genetic disparity, especially involving the human leukocyte antigen system is a critical factor for transplant outcome.

Objective: To evaluate retrospectively donor characteristics and correlations with the occurrence of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease, disease-free survival and overall survival in a Brazilian population submitted to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation between 1994 and 2012 in a single center.

Intensive care unit patients with lower respiratory tract nosocomial infections: the ENIRRIs project.

The clinical course of intensive care unit (ICU) patients may be complicated by a large spectrum of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI), defined by specific epidemiological, clinical and microbiological aspects. A European network for ICU-related respiratory infections (ENIRRIs), supported by the European Respiratory Society, has been recently established, with the aim at studying all respiratory tract infective episodes except community-acquired ones. A multicentre, observational study is in progress, enrolling more than 1000 patients fulfilling the clinical, biochemical and radiological findings consistent with a LRTI.