Morbidity after traumatic spinal injury in pediatric and adolescent sports-related trauma

Long-term assessment of the functional independence measure in sports-related spinal cord injury

CONTEXT

Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) secondary to traumatic sports-related etiology potentially face loss of independence. The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) assesses the amount of assistance patients require and has shown sensitivity to changes in patient functional status post injury.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to (1) examine long-term outcomes following sports-related SCI (SRSCI) using FIM scoring at the time of injury, one year, and five years post-injury, and (2) determine predictors of independence at one and five-year follow-up considering surgical and non-surgical management. Few studies have investigated the cohort analyzed in this study.

METHODS

The 1973-2016 National Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (SCIMS) Database was used to develop a SRSCI cohort. The primary outcome of interest captured functional independence using a multivariate logistic regression, defined by FIM individual scores greater than or equal to six, evaluated at one and five years.

RESULTS

A total of 491 patients were analyzed, 60 (12%) were female, 452 (92%) underwent surgery. The cohort demographics were stratified by patients with and without spine surgery and evaluated for functional independence in FIM subcategories. Increased time spent in inpatient rehabilitation and FIM score at post-operative discharge were associated with greater likelihood of functional ability at both one and five-year follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrated that SRSCI patients are a unique subset of SCI patients for whom factors repeatedly associated with independence at one year follow-up were dissimilar to those associated with independence at five-year follow-up. Larger prospective studies should be conducted to establish guidelines for this unique subcategory of SCI patients.

Spinal level and cord involvement in the prediction of sepsis development after vertebral fracture repair for traumatic spinal injury

OBJECTIVE

Despite understanding the associated adverse outcomes, identifying hospitalized patients at risk for sepsis is challenging. The authors aimed to characterize the epidemiology and clinical risk of sepsis in patients who underwent vertebral fracture repair for traumatic spinal injury (TSI).

METHODS

The authors conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of adults undergoing vertebral fracture repair during initial hospitalization after TSI who were registered in the National Trauma Data Bank from 2011 to 2014.

RESULTS

Of the 29,050 eligible patients undergoing vertebral fracture repair, 317 developed sepsis during initial hospitalization. Of these patients, most presented after a motor vehicle accident (63%) or fall (28%). Patients in whom sepsis developed had greater odds of being male (adjusted OR [aOR] 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-1.9), having diabetes mellitus (aOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.11-2.1), and being obese (aOR 1.9, 95% CI 1.4-2.5). Additionally, they had greater odds of presenting with moderate (aOR 2.7, 95% CI 1.8-4.2) or severe (aOR 3.9, 95% CI 2.9-5.2) Glasgow Coma Scale scores and of having concomitant abdominal injuries (aOR 1.9, 95% CI 1.5-2.5) but not cranial, thoracic, or lower-extremity injuries. Interestingly, cervical spine injury was significantly associated with developing sepsis (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-1.8), but thoracic and lumbar spine injuries were not. Spinal cord injury (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.5-2.5) was also associated with sepsis regardless of level. Patients with sepsis were hospitalized approximately 16 days longer. They had greater odds of being discharged to rehabilitative care or home with rehabilitative care (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.8-3.2) and greater odds of death or discharge to hospice (OR 6.0, 95% CI 4.4-8.1).

CONCLUSIONS

Among patients undergoing vertebral fracture repair, those with cervical spine fractures, spinal cord injuries, preexisting comorbidities, and severe concomitant injuries are at highest risk for developing postoperative sepsis and experiencing adverse hospital disposition.

The lexicon for periprosthetic bone loss versus osteolysis after cervical disc arthroplasty: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Periprosthetic bone loss is a common observation following arthroplasty. Recognizing and understanding the nature of bone loss is vital as it determines the subsequent performance of the device and the overall outcome. Despite its significance, the term "bone loss" is often misused to describe inflammatory osteolysis, a complication with vastly different clinical outcomes and treatment plans. Therefore, the goal of this review was to report major findings related to vertebral radiographic bone changes around cervical disc replacements, mitigate discrepancies in clinical reports by introducing uniform terminology to the field, and establish a precedence that can be used to identify the important nuances between these distinct complications.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, using the keywords "cervical," "disc replacement," "osteolysis," "bone loss," "radiograph," and "complications." A total of 23 articles met the inclusion criteria with the majority being retrospective or case reports.

RESULTS

Fourteen studies reported periprosthetic osteolysis in a total of 46 patients with onset ranging from 15-96 months after the index procedure. Reported causes included: metal hypersensitivity, infection, mechanical failure, and wear debris. Osteolysis was generally progressive and led to reoperation. Nine articles reported non-inflammatory bone loss in 527 patients (52.5%), typically within 3-6 months following implantation. The reported causes included: micromotion, stress shielding, and interrupted blood supply. With one exception, bone loss was reported to be non-progressive and had no effect on clinical outcome measures.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-progressive, early onset bone loss is a common finding after CDA and typically does not affect the reported short-term pain scores or lead to early revision. By contrast, osteolysis was less common, presenting more than a year post-operative and often accompanied by additional complications, leading to revision surgery. A greater understanding of the clinical significance is limited by the lack of long-term studies, inconsistent terminology, and infrequent use of histology and explant analyses. Uniform reporting and adoption of consistent terminology can mitigate some of these limitations. Executing these actionable items is critical to assess device performance and the risk of revision.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV

Diagnostic: individual cross-sectional studies with consistently applied reference standard and blinding.

Association of venous thromboembolism following pediatric traumatic spinal injuries with injury severity and longer hospital stays

OBJECTIVE

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) can cause significant morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients, and may disproportionately occur in patients with limited mobility following spinal trauma. The authors aimed to characterize the epidemiology and clinical predictors of VTE in pediatric patients following traumatic spinal injuries (TSIs).

METHODS

The authors conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of children who experienced TSI, including spinal fractures and spinal cord injuries, encoded within the National Trauma Data Bank from 2011 to 2014.

RESULTS

Of the 22,752 pediatric patients with TSI, 192 (0.8%) experienced VTE during initial hospitalization. Proportionally, more patients in the VTE group (77%) than in the non-VTE group (68%) presented following a motor vehicle accident. Patients developing VTE had greater odds of presenting with moderate (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4-4.8) or severe Glasgow Coma Scale scores (aOR 4.3, 95% CI 3.0-6.1), epidural hematoma (aOR 2.8, 95% CI 1.4-5.7), and concomitant abdominal (aOR 2.4, 95% CI 1.8-3.3) and/or lower extremity (aOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.0) injuries. They also had greater odds of being obese (aOR 2.9, 95% CI 1.6-5.5). Neither cervical, thoracic, nor lumbar spine injuries were significantly associated with VTE. However, involvement of more than one spinal level was predictive of VTE (aOR 1.3, 95% CI 1.0-1.7). Spinal cord injury at any level was also significantly associated with developing VTE (aOR 2.5, 95% CI 1.8-3.5). Patients with VTE stayed in the hospital an adjusted average of 19 days longer than non-VTE patients. They also had greater odds of discharge to a rehabilitative facility or home with rehabilitative services (aOR 2.6, 95% CI 1.8-3.6).

CONCLUSIONS

VTE occurs in a low percentage of hospitalized pediatric patients with TSI. Injury severity is broadly associated with increased odds of developing VTE; specific risk factors include concomitant injuries such as cranial epidural hematoma, spinal cord injury, and lower extremity injury. Patients with VTE also require hospital-based and rehabilitative care at greater rates than other patients with TSI.

Adult sports-related traumatic spinal injuries: do different activities predispose to certain injuries?

OBJECTIVE

Sports injuries are known to present a high risk of spinal trauma. The authors hypothesized that different sports predispose participants to different injuries and injury severities.

METHODS

The authors conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of adult patients who experienced a sports-related traumatic spinal injury (TSI), including spinal fractures and spinal cord injuries (SCIs), encoded within the National Trauma Data Bank from 2011 through 2014. Multiple imputation was used for missing data, and multivariable linear and logistic regression models were estimated.

RESULTS

The authors included 12,031 cases of TSI, which represented 15% of all sports-related trauma. The majority of patients with TSI were male (82%), and the median age was 48 years (interquartile range 32-57 years). The most frequent mechanisms of injury in this database were cycling injuries (81%), skiing and snowboarding accidents (12%), aquatic sports injuries (3%), and contact sports (3%). Spinal surgery was required during initial hospitalization for 9.1% of patients with TSI. Compared to non-TSI sports-related trauma, TSIs were associated with an average 2.3-day increase in length of stay (95% CI 2.1-2.4; p < 0.001) and discharge to or with rehabilitative services (adjusted OR 2.6, 95% CI 2.4-2.7; p < 0.001). Among sports injuries, TSIs were the cause of discharge to or with rehabilitative services in 32% of cases. SCI was present in 15% of cases with TSI. Within sports-related TSIs, the rate of SCI was 13% for cycling injuries compared to 41% and 49% for contact sports and aquatic sports injuries, respectively. Patients experiencing SCI had a longer length of stay (7.0 days longer; 95% CI 6.7-7.3) and a higher likelihood of adverse discharge disposition (adjusted OR 9.69, 95% CI 8.72-10.77) compared to patients with TSI but without SCI.

CONCLUSIONS

Of patients with sports-related trauma discharged to rehabilitation, one-third had TSIs. Cycling injuries were the most common cause, suggesting that policies to make cycling safer may reduce TSI.