Project description:BackgroundSpinal calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPPD) is uncommon, and often resembles more common spine pathologies causing pain and neural compression. Here, we present two unusual cases of CPPD of the cervical and thoracolumbar spines.Case descriptionCase 1: A 71-year old female smoker presented with a large epidural mass causing rapidly progressive cervical myelopathy with weakness in the upper and lower extremities.Case 2: A 66-year-old morbidly obese male presented with chronic back pain for several years associated with progressively worsening radicular pain in his left lower extremity.OutcomeThe first case is an example of tumoral CPPD involving the facet joint and expanding into the epidural space. The second case was an example of CPPD involving a thoracolumbar facet cyst, resulting in unilateral radiculopathy. Both patients were treated surgically and had significant improvement in symptoms post-operatively.ConclusionsCPPD in the spine is an uncommon diagnosis but should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with back pain and associated neurological symptoms. Accurate diagnosis of spinal CPPD is important in that it will guide postoperative management with anti-inflammatory medications and reduce risk of recurrence.
Project description:Inflammatory arthritis, such as pseudogout or otherwise referred to as calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystal arthritis or calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease, is characterized by the deposition of crystal formation and deposition in large joints. CPPD is known to affect the elderly population and commonly manifests as inflammation of knees, hips, and shoulders. CPPD disease involving the spine has been infrequently encountered in practice and rarely described in the literature. Here, we describe a case of an 80-year-old female with no known history of inflammatory arthritis who presented with left lower extremity weakness and fall, initially thought to have discitis, later confirming CPPD of the spine through biopsy and ultimately resolution of symptoms with anti-inflammatory agents. Although consisting of different clinical presentations, two other case reports have described CPPD of the spine with similar radiographic findings, to this author's knowledge. With the radiologic similarities, this unique case serves to raise awareness in the medical community and possibly place pseudogout of the spine on the differential list when such cases are encountered. As a result, patients can be initiated on benign anti-inflammatory agents, avoiding invasive testing and unnecessary antibiotic exposure.
Project description:Wound dehiscence is a known postoperative complication, but in cervical spine surgery it is rare and there is a lack of documented literature. This case report discusses novel complications of wound dehiscence in three patients who were treated with spinous process ostectomies after posterior cervical surgeries. In total three cases are reported in these reports. Case one documents the management of a patient with full-thickness cervical wound dehiscence following a cervical paraspinal infection corrected with posterior spinal fixation and fusion. This patient was treated with resection of the prominent spinous processes. Case two documents the management of a patient with an odontoid fracture requiring revision surgery. The patient developed a full-thickness wound dehiscence and was treated with resection of the prominent spinous processes. Case three was a patient suffering from a T9 spinal cord injury who was also treated for multiple vertebral fractures. The patient eventually developed internal cervical wound dehiscence which resulted in removal of the prominent spinous processes. This case report documents the successful treatment of cervical wound dehiscence which is a rare postoperative complication of cervical spinal surgery. This information is valuable as treatment strategies and research into cervical wound dehiscence are limited to a single case report.
Project description:Study Design Retrospective cross-sectional study. Clinical Question What is the prevalence of cervical spondylosis (CS) and thoracolumbar (TL) spinal deformity in an administrative database during a 4-year study period? Is the prevalence of CS or TL deformity higher in patients who have the other spine diagnosis compared with the overall study population? Are patients with both diagnoses more likely to have undergone spine surgery? Patients and Methods An administrative claims database containing 53 million patients with either Medicare (2005-2008) or private payer (2007-2010) insurance was used to identify patients with diagnoses of CS and/or TL deformity. Disease prevalence between groups was compared using a χ (2) test and reported using prevalence ratios (PR). Results The prevalence of CS was higher in patients with TL deformity than without TL deformity, for both Medicare (PR = 2.81) and private payer (PR = 1.79). Similarly, the prevalence of TL deformity was higher in patients with CS than without CS for both Medicare (PR = 3.19) and private payer (PR = 2.05). Patients with both diagnoses were more likely to have undergone both cervical (Medicare, PR = 1.44; private payer, PR = 2.03) and TL (Medicare, PR = 1.68; private payer, PR = 1.74) spine fusion. All comparisons were significant with p < 0.0001. Conclusions Patients with either CS or TL deformity had a higher prevalence of the other spinal diagnosis compared with the overall disease prevalence in the study population. Patients with both diagnoses had a higher prevalence of having spine surgery compared with patients with only one diagnosis. More studies to identify a causal mechanism for this relationship are warranted.
Project description:ObjectiveCalcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease is prevalent and has diverse presentations, but there are no validated classification criteria for this symptomatic arthritis. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and EULAR have developed the first-ever validated classification criteria for symptomatic CPPD disease.MethodsSupported by the ACR and EULAR, a multinational group of investigators followed established methodology to develop these disease classification criteria. The group generated lists of candidate items and refined their definitions, collected de-identified patient profiles, evaluated strengths of associations between candidate items and CPPD disease, developed a classification criteria framework, and used multi-criterion decision analysis to define criteria weights and a classification threshold score. The criteria were validated in an independent cohort.ResultsAmong patients with joint pain, swelling, or tenderness (entry criterion) whose symptoms are not fully explained by an alternative disease (exclusion criterion), the presence of crowned dens syndrome or calcium pyrophosphate crystals in synovial fluid are sufficient to classify a patient as having CPPD disease. In the absence of these findings, a score >56 points using weighted criteria, comprising clinical features, associated metabolic disorders, and results of laboratory and imaging investigations, can be used to classify as CPPD disease. These criteria had a sensitivity of 92.2% and specificity of 87.9% in the derivation cohort (190 CPPD cases, 148 mimickers), whereas sensitivity was 99.2% and specificity was 92.5% in the validation cohort (251 CPPD cases, 162 mimickers).ConclusionThe 2023 ACR/EULAR CPPD disease classification criteria have excellent performance characteristics and will facilitate research in this field.
Project description:ObjectiveCalcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease is prevalent and has diverse presentations, but there are no validated classification criteria for this symptomatic arthritis. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and EULAR have developed the first-ever validated classification criteria for symptomatic CPPD disease.MethodsSupported by the ACR and EULAR, a multinational group of investigators followed established methodology to develop these disease classification criteria. The group generated lists of candidate items and refined their definitions, collected de-identified patient profiles, evaluated strengths of associations between candidate items and CPPD disease, developed a classification criteria framework, and used multi-criterion decision analysis to define criteria weights and a classification threshold score. The criteria were validated in an independent cohort.ResultsAmong patients with joint pain, swelling, or tenderness (entry criterion) whose symptoms are not fully explained by an alternative disease (exclusion criterion), the presence of crowned dens syndrome or calcium pyrophosphate crystals in synovial fluid are sufficient to classify a patient as having CPPD disease. In the absence of these findings, a score>56 points using weighted criteria, comprising clinical features, associated metabolic disorders, and results of laboratory and imaging investigations, can be used to classify as CPPD disease. These criteria had a sensitivity of 92.2% and specificity of 87.9% in the derivation cohort (190 CPPD cases, 148 mimickers), whereas sensitivity was 99.2% and specificity was 92.5% in the validation cohort (251 CPPD cases, 162 mimickers).ConclusionThe 2023 ACR/EULAR CPPD disease classification criteria have excellent performance characteristics and will facilitate research in this field.
Project description:ObjectiveThe study objective was to examine the disease, demographic, and imaging features associated with different inflammatory phenotypes of calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease, ie, recurrent acute calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystal arthritis, chronic CPP crystal inflammatory arthritis, and crowned dens syndrome (CDS).MethodsData from an international cohort (assembled from 25 sites in 7 countries for the development and validation of the 2023 CPPD classification criteria from the American College of Rheumatology/EULAR) that met the criteria were included. Three cross-sectional studies were conducted to determine the phenotypic characteristics of recurrent acute CPP crystal arthritis, chronic CPP crystal inflammatory arthritis, and CDS. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to calculate adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) to examine the association between potential risk factors and the inflammatory phenotype.ResultsAmong the 618 people included (56% female; mean age [standard deviation] 74.0 [11.9] years), 602 (97.4%) had experienced acute CPP crystal arthritis, 332 (53.7%) had recurrent acute arthritis, 158 (25.6%) had persistent inflammatory arthritis, and 45 (7.3%) had had CDS. Recurrent acute CPP crystal arthritis associated with longer disease duration (aOR 2.88 [95% CI 2.00-4.14]). Chronic CPP crystal inflammatory arthritis was associated with acute wrist arthritis (aOR 2.92 [95% CI 1.81-4.73]), metacarpophalangeal joint osteoarthritis (aOR 1.87 [95% CI 1.17-2.97]), and scapho-trapezo-trapezoid (STT) joint osteoarthritis (aOR 1.83 [95% CI 1.15-2.91]), and it was negatively associated with either metabolic or familial risk for CPPD (aOR 0.60 [95% CI 0.37-0.96]). CDS was associated with male sex (aOR 2.35 [95% CI 1.21-4.59]), STT joint osteoarthritis (aOR 2.71 [95% CI 1.22-6.05]), and more joints affected with chondrocalcinosis (aOR 1.46 [95% CI 1.15-1.85]).ConclusionCPPD disease encompasses acute and chronic inflammatory phenotypes, each with specific clinical and imaging features that need to be considered in the diagnostic workup.
Project description:Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate deposition disease (CPDD, tophaceous pseudogout) is a rare crystal arthropathy characterized by calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition in joint spaces, episodes of synovitis, and radiological features of chondrocalcinosis. We present a case of 61-year-old woman who presented with left temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain, difficulty chewing, left facial numbness, left-sided hearing loss, and left TMJ swelling. Imaging of the temporal fossa revealed a large mass emanating from the temporal bone at the TMJ, extending into the greater wing of the sphenoid and involving the mastoid bone and air cells posteriorly. Fine needle aspiration demonstrated polarizable crystals with giant cells. Intraoperatively, the TMJ was completely eroded by the mass. Final pathology was consistent with tophaceous pseudogout. CPDD has rarely been reported involving the skull base. None of the cases originally described by McCarty had TMJ pseudogout. Symptoms are generally pain, swelling, and hearing loss. Management is nearly always surgical with many patients achieving symptomatic relief with resection. CPDD is associated with many medical problems (including renal failure, gout, and hyperparathyroidism), but our patient had none of these risk factors. This case demonstrates that CPDD can involve the skull base and is best treated with skull base surgical techniques.
Project description:Study designGuideline.ObjectivesTo develop an international guideline (AOGO) about the use of osteobiologics in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for treating degenerative spine conditions.MethodsThe guideline development process was guided by AO Spine Knowledge Forum Degenerative (KF Degen) and followed the Guideline International Network McMaster Guideline Development Checklist. The process involved 73 participants with expertise in degenerative spine diseases and surgery from 22 countries. Fifteen systematic reviews were conducted addressing respective key topics and evidence was collected. The methodologist compiled the evidence into GRADE Evidence-to-Decision frameworks. Guideline panel members judged the outcomes and other criteria and made the final recommendations through consensus.ResultsFive conditional recommendations were created. A conditional recommendation is about the use of allograft, autograft or a cage with an osteobiologic in primary ACDF surgery. Other conditional recommendations are about the use of osteobiologic for single- or multi-level ACDF, and for hybrid construct surgery. It is suggested that surgeons use other osteobiologics rather than human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) in common clinical situations. Surgeons are recommended to choose 1 graft over another or 1 osteobiologic over another primarily based on clinical situation, and the costs and availability of the materials.ConclusionThis AOGO guideline is the first to provide recommendations for the use of osteobiologics in ACDF. Despite the comprehensive searches for evidence, there were few studies completed with small sample sizes and primarily as case series with inherent risks of bias. Therefore, high-quality clinical evidence is demanded to improve the guideline.
Project description:ObjectiveCalcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease represents a common crystalline arthritis with a range of manifestations. Our goal was to investigate risks for cardiovascular events in patients with CPPD.MethodsWe performed a retrospective matched cohort analysis in the Veterans Health Administration Corporate Data Warehouse, 2010-2014. CPPD was defined by ≥1 International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for chondrocalcinosis or calcium metabolism disorder. CPPD patients were age- and sex-matched to approximately 4 patients without codes for CPPD; we excluded patients with a cardiovascular event during the 365 days prior to the index date. Demographic information, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, medications, and health care utilization were assessed at baseline. The primary outcome was a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE: myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, coronary revascularization, stroke, or death). Secondary outcomes included individual components of MACE. Cox proportional hazards models estimated fully adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs).ResultsWe identified 23,124 CPPD patients matched to 86,629 non-CPPD patients with >250,000 person-years of follow-up. The study population was 96% male, mean age was 78 years, and 75% were White. The frequency of traditional cardiovascular risk factors was similar between the 2 cohorts. CPPD was not significantly associated with risk for MACE (HR 0.98 [95% CI 0.94-1.02]) in fully adjusted models, though risks of myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, and stroke were significantly higher in the CPPD cohort compared to the non-CPPD cohort.ConclusionCPPD did not confer an increased risk for MACE, a composite end point including all-cause mortality. Our results propose CPPD as a novel risk factor for MACE components, including myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, and stroke.