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Since the release of the report "To Err is Human" by the American Institute of Medicine (IOM) the subject "Medical Risks, Errors and Patient Safety" has gained increasing interest in literature. In Germany, neither extensive statistics nor generally significant epidemiological studies regarding common errors associated with damages caused to patients' health exist. In recent years the subject has become increasingly interesting both in specialist discussion and it the lay press; it has become evident that the different use of terms, especially those originating from the Anglo-Saxon language, can lead to misunderstandings. Hence, as one of the first steps of its action programme, the expert panel "Patient Safety" of the German Agency for Quality in Medicine has compiled a glossary of technical terms to provide adequate support to the discussion this important subject of nomenclature.

Objective: To evaluate the lumbar triangular safety zone, its boundaries and its relationship with the dorsal root ganglion through Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Methods: The boundaries, shape and dimensions of 303 triangular safety zones were analyzed in Tesla 3.0 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) coronal sections from L2 to L5, including the dorsal root ganglion. Results: The sample consisted of 101 patients with a mean age of 32 years. The height of the triangular safety zone was formed by the lateral edge of the dura mater, the width by the upper plateau of the lower vertebra and the hypotenuse by the corresponding nerve root. The mean dimensions and the area varied according to the level studied. The dorsal root ganglion invaded the dimensions of the triangle in all the images studied. Conclusion: Based on the data and the analyses performed, we concluded that knowledge of the boundaries of the triangular safety zone through MRI increases the safety of minimally invasive procedures in the lumbar spine. Level of evidence I; Diagnostic studies – Investigation of a diagnostic test.

Objective: To analyze aspects related to the diagnostic difficulty in patients with bacterial spondylodiscitis. Methods: Cross-sectional observational study with retrospective data collected in the period from March 2004 to January 2014.Twenty-one patients diagnosed with bacterial spondylodiscitis were analyzed. Results: Women were the most affected, as well as older individuals. Pain in the affected region was the initial symptom in 52% of patients, and 45.5% of the patients had low back pain, and those with dorsal discitis had back pain as the main complaint; the patients with thoracolumbar discitis had pain in that region, and only one patient had sacroiliac discitis. The average time between onset of symptoms and treatment was five months. The lumbar segment was the most affected with 11 cases (52%), followed by thoracolumbar in 24%, dorsal in 19% of cases and a case in the sacroiliac segment. Only seven patients had fever. Pain in the affected level was coincidentally the most common symptom. Conclusions: Early diagnosis of bacterial spondylodiscitis remains a challenge due to the nonspecific signs and symptoms reported by the patient and the wide variability of laboratory results and imaging. The basis for early diagnosis remains the clinical suspicion at the time of initial treatment.

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