STUDY OBJECTIVES Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been associated with increased perioperative morbidity and mortality. We initiated a protocol designed to screen patients preoperatively and monitor them postoperatively. The goal was to identify patients who were at risk for oxygen desaturation after discharge from the postanesthesia recovery room (PACU). METHODS Patients without previously ...

BACKGROUND Owing to the anatomical difference between the far lateral herniation of the lumbar disc (FHLD) and the intraspinal herniation of lumbar disc (iHLD), the outcome of transforaminal epidural steroid injections (TFESI) in patients with FHLD seems to be different from that in patients with iHLD. However, few studies have evaluated the efficacy of TFESI in FHLD. OBJECTIVE To evaluate an...

STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional. PURPOSE To develop a strategy to determine a sound method for decision-making based on postoperative clinical outcome satisfaction. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE The ideal management of thoracolumbar and lumbar burst fractures (TLBF) without neurological compromise remains controversial. METHODS This was a prospective study. Patients with thoracolumbar injury severi...

The international arrangements to underpin food security are in disarray. This matters because tackling hunger is central to the achievement of the international development targets for reducing poverty: the poorest 1.5 billion people in the world, living on less than $US 1 per day, typically spend 80% of their income on food (ODI Briefing Paper 1997(1)). Access to adequate food is a fundamenta...

STUDY DESIGN A cross-sectional study. PURPOSE To explore the impact of chronic low back pain (CLBP) on individuals' quality of life; to understand current treatment practices and level of satisfaction with treatment in patients with CLBP. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE Assessing subjective, patient-reported outcomes such as quality of life is essential to health care research. METHODS Influences ...

AIM Minimally invasive surgical techniques for spine surgery have gained popularity over the last decade. In this study, the authors describe a unilateral dynamic stabilization for unilateral spinal pathologies. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 7 patients with an average age of 46.1 years (range 21-80 years) were included in this study. They are represented various spinal pathologies (degenera...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of intradiscal methylene blue (MB) injection in patients with chronic discogenic low back pain. METHOD Twenty patients with discogenic low back pain (4 males, 16 females; mean age 45.6 years) refractory to conservative management were recruited. All subjects underwent MB injection in target lumbar intervertebral discs confirmed by provocative discography. Th...

OBJECTIVES Nonspecific chronic low back pain (nCLBP) is a common pathology limiting function at different ages. Rehabilitation is not consensual and the efficiency is variable. The objective of this study is to describe pain severity and disability in activities of daily life (ADL) at the end of conventional physical therapy treatment (CPTT). DESIGN This is a non-randomized cross-sectional st...

Background and Aim: Degenerative lumbar spine disease can lead to lumbar spine instability. The patients can present with Low Back Pain (LBP), radicular pain, and motor and sensory dysfunction. Age >50, female sex and pregnancies are among prevalent risk factors. The degeneration process usually starts from the intervertebral discs progressing to involve facet joints, ligaments, and vertebral b...

BACKGROUND The mainstay of sacroiliac joint disruption/degenerative sacroiliitis therapy has been nonoperative management. This nonoperative management often includes a regimen of physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, therapeutic injections, and possibly radiofrequency ablation at the discretion of the treating physician. When these clinical treatments fail, sacroiliac joint fusion has been...