Pneumorachis mimicking lumbar disc herniation combined with lumbar spinal stenosis: A case report and literature review.

Rationale: Pneumorachis is an uncommon lesion of the spinal canal, which is often asymptomatic. The pathogenesis and treatment strategies are uncertain because only a few cases have been reported. Some patients were treated with percutaneous aspiration or percutaneous endoscopic treatment, but poor pain release and symptom recurrence were observed.

Endoscopic Epidurolysis for the Management of Chronic Spinal Pain: A Delphi-Based Italian Experts Consensus.

Introduction: Endoscopic epidurolysis (EE) is a minimally invasive procedure used to manage chronic spinal pain, particularly in cases unresponsive to traditional treatments. Despite its growing recognition, the literature lacks comprehensive guidelines on its optimal use. This study utilized a modified Delphi approach to gather expert consensus on best practices for EE in the Italian pain therapy network.

Inter-observer variability in the classification of lumbar foraminal stenosis in magnetic resonance imaging using different evaluation scales.

Background: The evaluation of lumbar spine degeneration on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is prone to inter-reader variability, including when assessing foraminal changes. This variability, often due to subjective criteria and inconsistent terminology, may affect clinical correlations. Standardized criteria could help improve agreement among readers.

Cervical spinal cord injury following osteophyte excision for respiratory distress caused by diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis associated with ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament: a case report and literature review.

Background: Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a systemic non-inflammatory disorder characterized by enthesopathy and osteophyte formation. DISH can also cause several other symptoms. Limited range of motion (ROM) is the most common symptom; however, dysphagia and respiratory distress are clinically important symptoms.

Comparative efficacy and fusion outcomes of unilateral bi-portal endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion versus minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion in treating single-segment degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis with lumbar spinal stenosis: a two-year retrospective study.

Background: Degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DLS) with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a common condition resulting in substantial lower back pain and disability. Surgical intervention is recommended only when conservative treatment fails. This study compared UBE-TLIF and MIS-TLIF regarding clinical outcomes and fusion rates in patients with single-segment DLS with LSS.

Concomitant epidural and longitudinal anterior spinal artery contrast spread in a lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI).

A 78-year-old female with a remote history of L3-4 decompression and fusion presented with several months of low back and radicular leg pain. MRI revealed moderate L2-L3 spinal canal stenosis, ligamentum flavum infolding, moderate bilateral foraminal stenosis, and a grade I retrolisthesis. A right sided L2-L3 TFESI was performed using multiplanar fluoroscopic imaging with a subpedicular supraneural approach.

Auto-Rad: End-to-End Report Generation from Lumber Spine MRI Using Vision-Language Model.

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a major cause of chronic lower back and leg pain, and is traditionally diagnosed through labor-intensive analysis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans by radiologists. This study aims to streamline the diagnostic process by developing an automated radiology report generation (ARRG) system using a vision-language (VL) model. We utilized a Generative Image-to-Text (GIT) model, originally designed for visual question answering (VQA) and image captioning.

Longitudinal DTI analysis of microstructural changes in lumbar nerve roots following Interspinous process device placement.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and its parameters such as fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), radial diffusivity (RD) are increasingly being used to assess peripheral nerve integrity alongside nerve conduction studies. This pilot study aims to compare DTI values of lumbar spinal nerve roots before (T0) and after (T1) treatment with an interspinous process device (IPD). Seven patients (5 females, 2 males; mean age: 68) suffering from neurogenic claudication and lumbar spinal canal and foraminal stenosis were evaluated.

What do patients with lumbar spinal stenosis think is physical therapy's best card? A survey of perceived message strength.

Objectives: Rising surgical rates for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) and underutilization of physical therapist services for this condition may increase patient risks and healthcare costs. Patient beliefs may also contribute to this problem. Therefore, our objective was to determine which messages about physical therapy were perceived as strongest by patients with LSS and whether those messages were influenced by patient factors.

Relationship Between Paraspinal Sarcopenia and Lumbar Alignment and Facet Joint Osteoarthritis in Patients with Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Stenosis.

Study Design: Retrospective study analysis.

Objective: To explore association between degenerative spinal conditions and paraspinal sarcopenia in patients with severe degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (DLSS).

Background: Paraspinal muscles plays an essential role in stabilizing the spine.

Insulin Resistance as a Risk Factor for Flavum Hypertrophy in Lumbar Spinal Stenosis.

Introduction: Ligamentum flavum (LF) hypertrophy is the main etiological factor in the development of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS); however, its molecular pathology remains unclear. Histologically, LF hypertrophy is characterized by a reduction in elastic fibers and an increase in collagen fibers. We previously performed miRNA transcriptomic analysis on excised LF from elderly patients with LSS and identified the insulin receptor signaling along with TGFβ-mediated signaling as pathways involved in ligament hypertrophy.

Risk Factors for de Novo Postoperative Urinary Retention in Posterior Lumbar Spine Surgery.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: De novo postoperative urinary retention (POUR) after lumbar posterior decompression surgery for lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS) is a statistically known but uncommon complication for both patients and spine surgeons. The aim of this study is to review clinical data and imaging findings and identify preoperative predictors of de novo POUR.

Rare malignant primary spinal chondrosarcoma: A case report.

Chondrosarcomas are one of malignant tumors in which cartilaginous matrix is produced. It is divided into 2 groups including primary or secondary. Primary chondrosarcomas are the third most common primary malignant tumors of the bone.

Carotid endarterectomy in the setting of persistent hypoglossal artery.

Persistent hypoglossal artery (PHA) is a rare, anatomical variant in which the posterior cerebral circulation is primarily supplied by a branch of the carotid artery, rather than the vertebral arteries. This case report discusses carotid endarterectomy performed on a man, 67 years of age, with high-grade, asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis and ipsilateral PHA. Preoperative computed tomography angiography identified the PHA arising from the internal carotid artery, compensating for atretic bilateral vertebral arteries and providing primary perfusion to anterior spinal artery.

Preoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Modifies Percutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulator Trial Progression and Planning.

Objective: Spinal cord stimulator (SCS) percutaneous lead placement has been effective in treating chronic limb, neck, and back pain. However, SCS lead placement poses a risk of neurologic injury, which may be attenuated with preprocedural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify potential spinal anatomical abnormalities (eg, central canal stenosis) that would either modify or prevent lead placement. However, a large-scale study of the clinical value of preoperative MRIs in percutaneous SCS lead placement is lacking.

External validation of SpineNetV2 on a comprehensive set of radiological features for grading lumbosacral disc pathologies.

Background: In recent years, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) models has revolutionized the diagnosis of Low Back Pain (LBP) and associated disc pathologies. Among these, SpineNetV2 stands out as a state-of-the-art, open-access model for detecting and grading various intervertebral disc pathologies. However, ensuring the reliability and applicability of AI models like SpineNetV2 is paramount.

Impact of joint hypermobility on lumbar positional changes in back pain patients: a cross-sectional weight-bearing MRI study.

Purpose: To investigate positional lumbar changes by weight-bearing MRI in low back pain (LBP) patients with hypermobile joints (Beighton score ≥ 4).

Methods: Patients referred to weight-bearing MRI went through a clinical examination, including Beighton's test, answered back pain-related questionnaires, and were hereafter imaged in supine and standing in a 0.25-T MRI unit.