Background: Treatment option of postoperative discitis (POD) is either conservative or operative, but till date, there are no established validated protocols of the treatment of postoperative lumbar discitis. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the outcome of conservative versus operative management of POD following single-level lumbar discectomy. Methods: We prospectively studied a total of 38 cases of POD. The patients were diagnosed clinically, radiologically, and by laboratory investigations and followed up with serial erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein, X-ray, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging. Demographic data, clinical variables, length of hospital stay, duration of antibiotic treatment, and posttreatment complications were collected, and pre- and postoperative assessment was done using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score. Functional outcome of the study was measured by the modified criteria of Kirkaldy–Willis. Results: VAS score for pain was significantly decreased in both groups after treatment. However, posttreatment differences were not statistically significant. In posttreatment mean JOA score, differences were not statistically significant in both groups except the mean difference (−0.47) of restriction of daily activities, which was statistically significant (95% confidence interval: −0.88–−0.07, P = 0.025, unpaired t -test). About 73.7% and 84.2% of the patients had a satisfactory functional outcome in conservative and operative management groups, respectively, at the end of 12-month follow-up. Conclusions: Operative management yielded better outcomes than traditional conservative treatment in terms of functional outcomes, length of hospital stays, and duration of antibiotic treatment as determined by both the pain and daily activity levels.

Cranial epidural hematoma is a serious event requiring immediate intervention. This can be due to sudden traction tearing the vessels between the dura and the skull. During posterior fossa surgery, brain collapse may emerge due to the sudden reduction of prolonged elevated intracranial pressure; it could cause dura-skull detachment to create epidural hematoma even far from the surgical site. Hence, we should be aware of this complication when approaching posterior fossa tumors as it frequently leads to severe neurologic impairment or death. Here, we report a 12-year old previously healthy child who was admitted with a 4-month history of severe headache, vomiting, and right eye blindness due to increased intracranial pressure. A brain Computed Tomography (CT) scan showed obstructive hydrocephalus, and contrast-enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) confirmed intraventricular posterior fossa tumor. After tumor resection, the patient developed an epidural hematoma far from the surgery site. Removal of the hematoma exposed lacerations of superior sagittal sinus due to dural detachment. Failure to control intracranial pressure resulted in a fatal outcome.

Background This multicenter multinational RCT designed to compare the efficacy of suppository indomethacin and NAC for prevention of PEP. Methods: During a 6-month period, all of the ERCP cases in seven referral centers were randomly assigned to receive either 1200 mg oral NAC, indomethacin suppository 100 mg, 1200 mg oral NAC plus indomethacin suppository 100 mg or placebo 2 hours before ERCP. The primary outcomes were the rate and severity of any PEP. Results: A total of 432 patients included (41.4% male). They were originally citizens of 6 countries (60.87% Caucasian). They were randomly allocated to receive either NAC (group A, 84 cases), rectal indomethacin (group B, 138 cases), NAC + rectal indomethacin (group C, 115 cases) or placebo (group D, 95 cases). The rate of PEP in groups A, B and C in comparison with placebo were 10.7%, 17.4%, 7.8% vs 20% (P=0.08, 0.614 & 0.01 respectively). The NNT for NAC, indomethacin and NAC + indomethacin was 11, 38 and 8 respectively. Conclusion: Oral NAC is more effective than rectal indomethacin when compared to placebo for prevention of PEP and the combination of NAC and Indomethacin had the lowest incidence of PEP and may have synergistic effect in preventing of PEP (IRCT20201222049798N1; 29/12/2020).

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