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(HealthDay)—Following successful lumbar spine surgery, the bone mineral density (BMD) of the vertebral body and femoral neck can increase but appears to related to post-operative walking ability, according to a study published in the March 15 issue of Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-bone-density-spine-femur-post-spine.html Surgery Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:20:01 EST news284215426 (HealthDay) —Patients with diabetes who have longstanding diabetes, poor glycemic control, and use insulin had suboptimal improvements in clinical outcomes after lumbar spine surgery, according to research published March 15 in Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-diabetes-affects-lumbar-spine-surgery.html Diabetes Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:30:01 EST news284125780 Physician-researchers at the Rothman Institute at Jefferson have developed a new, clinically meaningful scale of severity for diagnosing patients with cervical spinal stenosis. Their goal was to create a more accurate scale than the current "mild, moderate or severe" designations used for patients with this condition, a narrowing of the spinal canal in the neck. Researchers sought to create a reproducible, clinically validated classification of central cervical stenosis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-anatomically-based-classification-cervical-spinal.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 20 Mar 2013 01:00:02 EST news282939053 (Medical Xpress)—When hospital patients have to be readmitted soon after discharge, hospitals look bad. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-hospitals-unfairly-high-readmission.html Other Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:00:01 EST news280158886 (HealthDay)—Risk factors have been identified for medical complications following cervical spine surgery, with cardiac and pulmonary complications correlating with death within two years, according to research published in the Feb. 1 issue of Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-factors-idd-cervical-spinal-surgery.html Surgery Thu, 07 Feb 2013 13:00:37 EST news279464430 (HealthDay)—Requiring patients interested in spinal surgery to first see a rehabilitation physician reduces the number of spinal surgeries, reduces costs, and leaves patients largely satisfied, according to a study published in the Feb. 1 issue of Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-pre-op-physiatry-spinal-surgery.html Surgery Tue, 05 Feb 2013 13:30:01 EST news279292204 The "July effect"—the notion that the influx of new residents and fellows at teaching hospitals in July of each year adversely affects patient care and outcomes—was examined in a very large data set of hospitalizations for patients undergoing spine surgery. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) and the University of Virginia Health System (Charlottesville, VA) found a negligible effect on periprocedural outcomes among patients treated by spine surgery. Detailed results of their thorough study are furnished in the article "The effect of July admission on inpatient outcomes following spinal surgery. Clinical article," by Jennifer S. McDonald, Ph.D., Michelle J. Clarke, M.D., Gregory A. Helm, M.D., Ph.D., and David F. Kallmes, M.D., published today online, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-july-effect-negligible-outcomes-spine.html Surgery Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:23:55 EST news278677427 (HealthDay)—Almost half of patients whose primary care physicians recommend a lumbosacral or cervical spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan go on to receive a surgical consultation, but few end up undergoing spinal surgery, according to research published in the Jan. 1 issue of Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-surgery-common-mri-spine.html Surgery Wed, 02 Jan 2013 13:05:29 EST news276354292 (HealthDay)—About 7 to 8 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who undergo elective spine surgery for degenerative conditions are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, according to a study published in the October issue of The Spine Journal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-readmission-percent-elective-spine-surgeries.html Surgery Tue, 11 Dec 2012 05:41:10 EST news274426852 Hospital administrative databases, designed to provide general information on hospital stays and associated costs, are frequently used to find information that can lead to quality assessments of care or clinical research. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) extracted data on hospital readmissions following spine surgery at their institution from an administrative database to assess the clinical relevance of the information and to define clinically relevant predictors of readmission. What they found were readmission numbers substantially larger than expected or appropriate. The researchers' findings are reported in the article "Pitfalls of calculating hospital readmission rates based on nonvalidated administrative data sets. Clinical article," by Beejal Y. Amin, M.D., and colleagues, published online today, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-administrative-source-surgical-complications.html Surgery Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:42:39 EST news273238921 (HealthDay)—The overall mortality rate associated with spinal surgery is 1.8 per 1,000 and varies based on factors such as patient age and primary diagnosis, according to a study published in the Nov. 1 issue of Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-spinal-surgery-tied-mortality-quantified.html Surgery Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:40:02 EST news271078749 When hospital patients have to be readmitted soon after discharge, hospitals look bad. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-hospital-readmission.html Health Wed, 10 Oct 2012 15:44:55 EST news269102690 Nearly 20 percent of people who underwent low back fusion surgery developed post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms associated with that surgery, according to a recent Oregon Health & Science University study published in the journal Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-one-fifth-spine-surgery-patients-ptsd.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 28 Sep 2012 10:15:54 EST news268046071 (HealthDay)—Children and adolescents given intravenously (IV)-administered acetaminophen after major spine surgery have significantly less postoperative pain, compared with those given placebo, but administration of acetaminophen does not reduce the need for opioids, according to a study published in the Sept. 15 issue of Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-iv-acetaminophen-eases-post-spinal-op.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sun, 23 Sep 2012 15:02:35 EST news267631342 Orthopedic spine surgery may be more effective than non-surgical treatment for low back disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-surgery-conditions.html Surgery Fri, 18 May 2012 08:50:01 EST news256548756 (HealthDay) -- A variety of pre-, intra-, and postoperative factors contribute to increased length of stay (LOS) for patients who undergo level 1 minimally invasive (MIS) transforaminal interbody fusions (TLIF) spine surgery, according to a study published online May 8 in Spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-predictors-length-hospital-spine-surgery.html Surgery Thu, 17 May 2012 15:00:01 EST news256481639 (Medical Xpress) -- The relative risk of blood loss during corrective spine surgery in children appears linked to the underlying condition causing the spinal deformity, according to a new study from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-blood-loss-childhood-surgery-varies.html Surgery Mon, 09 Apr 2012 07:10:00 EST news253174166 Spine surgery patients who got a bone growth stimulating agent as part of a clinical trial were three to five times more likely to develop cancer two to three years after being implanted with the product, according to a new analysis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-cancer-bone-growth-product.html Cancer Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:20:01 EST news239637919 A new study indicates that many patients undergoing spine surgery have low levels of vitamin D, which may delay their recovery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-vitamin-d-common-spine-surgery.html Health Thu, 03 Nov 2011 05:19:05 EST news239516307 In the last 20 years, due to diagnostic and surgical advances, more and more patients have become appropriate candidates for spine surgery, and the number of these procedures performed has risen significantly. While medical experts acknowledge the potential benefits of spine surgery, they also understand that complications can reduce the success in the short and long term. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-factors-complications-spine-surgery.html Other Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:05:30 EST news235821464 A new study from researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine has identified a unique protein complex that can be used to predict whether an epidural steroid injection will help relieve pain caused by a herniated disc in the lower spine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-biomarker-common-pain-treatment-doctor.html Medical research Thu, 11 Aug 2011 10:41:14 EST news232278054