AO Spine Knowledge Forum Degenerative

Prospective international multicenter registry about surgical treatment of degenerative spine conditions and the use of osteobiologics

Principal investigator:

S. Tim Yoon

Co-Principal investigator:

Jeffrey Wang

Goals:

The aim is to better understand degenerative spinal disorders and what kind of biologics are used in degenerative cases by assessing their effectiveness in terms of patient-reported outcomes, complications, and fusion rates.

Specific Topics:

AOSpine Surgical Treatment of Lumbar Spondy (STL-Spondy)

Investigators: Patrick Hsieh and Michael Virk
The goal is to investigate the difference in clinical outcomes of common surgical procedures for degenerative spondylolisthesis.

AOSpine Interbody Materials for Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (IM-ACDF)

Investigators:

Hans Jörg Meisel and Amit Jain
The goal is to understand and compare structural allograft vs. PEEK-based interbody devices in the anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) procedure with respect to fusion rates, rates of secondary surgery, and patient-reported outcomes.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02802033

Documents:

Publication summary

Principal investigator:

Hans Jörg Meisel

Co-Principal investigators:

Jeffrey Wang, Zorica Buser

Goals:

Aims to formulate precisely defined, clinically relevant and internationally applicable guidelines ensuring evidence-based, safe, and effective use of osteobiologics, considering regional preferences and cost-effectiveness. The study follows GRADE approach, and the current research focus is on anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.

Documents:

• Summary PDF
• Access to AO-GO

Defining the radiographic criteria of fusion status after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) – An AO Spine Knowledge Forum Degenerative Study

Principal investigator:

Christopher Martin

Co-Principal investigators:

Daniel Riew, Tim Yoon

Goals:

The purpose of this study is first to assess the performance of practicing surgeons in measuring inter-spinous process motion across a variety of patient images and in a variety of practice settings. In the second phase, the results of this study will help to define the radiographic criteria of fusion status after ACDF.

AO Perioperative Management (POMa) of Adult Deformity or Degenerative Spine – Cooperation of Knowledge Forum Deformity and Knowledge Forum Degenerative

Principal investigator (KF Degen Side):

Matthew Gary

Co-Principal investigators (KF Degen Side):

Ho-Joong Kim, Samuel Cho, Tim Yoon

Goals:

The purpose of this study is to first understand the global variability in the intra- and postoperative management of patients undergoing spinal fusions through a survey to the global AO Spine community and comparison of its results to the existing guideline. Guidelines about perioperative management will be developed as the second phase of the study.

AO Spine Knowledge Forum Degenerative Lumbosacral Spondylolisthesis Standard Core Outcomes Set

Principal investigator:

Waeel Hamouda

Co-Principal investigators:

Sathish Muthu, Zorica Buser

Goals:

The purpose of this study is to develop a set of standardized core outcome measures for patients who underwent treatment for symptomatic degenerative lumbosacral spondylolisthesis, which are relevant for clinical assessment and functional improvement as well as being measurable, and feasible for collection in daily practice.

Guideline Development on use of UFH (unfractionated heparin) and LMWH (low molecular weight heparin) following Lumbar Fusion Surgery, in cooperation with EANS and EUROSPINE

Principal investigator:

Andreas Demetriades

Co-Principal investigator:

Tim Yoon, Sathish Muthu

Goals:

The purpose of the current study is to develop a guideline for the use of heparin following lumbar fusion surgery.

Principal investigator:

Tim Yoon

Co-Principal investigators:

Zorica Buser

Goals:

Aims to develop a framework to evaluate the level of evidence supporting the use of bone grafts. It will help surgeons to understand the quality of the information that is provided for each product used

Documents:

Publication summary

Incidence of Post-operative Rare Complications after Lumbar Spine Surgery: a Multicenter retrospective study based on prospective data collection (investigator initiated study)

Principal investigator:

Christopher Martin

Co-Principal investigators:

Zorica Buser, Jeffrey Wang

Goals:

The purpose of this retrospective multicenter case series is to identify the incidence of specific rare lumbar spine complications, associated risk factors, as well as outcomes and treatments of those complications. The findings will help with treatment planning and patient counseling. In addition, this study will be used as a research training platform for young surgeons and fellows.

Health technology assessment (HTA) on biologics in spine surgery

Principal investigator:

All steering committee members

Goals:

Aimed to perform three systematic reviews to assess the efficacy and safety of:

• ICBG compared with other types of autograft;
• allograft compared with all other types of graft;
• DBM compared with autograft, allograft or other bone graft substitutes in cervical and thoracolumbar fusion;
• and the use of stem cells in spine degenerative conditions.

Documents:

Publication summary

Insurance database

Principal investigator:

Jeffrey Wang

Goals:

Aimed to mine large databases of HIPAA-compliant orthopedic and non-orthopedic records that contain charging, reimbursement, cost, diagnosis, procedure, hospital, patient demographic, and co-morbidity data, and other related data that enables us to evaluate the costs and care patterns for health care services: evaluation of the trends, complications, and costs associated with the use of biologics in spine surgery

Documents:

Publication summary

Survey on the current use of structural and non-structural graft materials among spine surgeons worldwide

Principal investigator:

S. Tim Yoon

Goals:

Aim was to learn what kind of graft materials spine surgeons around the world use generally for their ACDF procedures

Documents:

Publication summary

A quantitative analysis of serum and wound concentrations of systemic and local prophylactic antibiotics in spine surgery

Principal investigator:

Arun Kumar Viswanadha

Co-Principal investigator:

Naresh Babu J

Goals:

Aims to analyze serum and wound concentrations of antibiotics administered by two different routes i.e. systemic and intra wound application

Principal investigator:

Carla Cunha

Co-Principal investigator:

Susana G. Santos, Mário A. Barbosa, Paulo Pereira

Goals:

Aims to demonstrate and define the role of macrophages in hernia regression

A Novel MRI Tool for Quantifying Intervertebral Disc Degeneration in Low Back Pain

Principal investigator:

Kyle Sheldrick

Co-Principal investigators:

Ashish Diwan, Uphar Chamoli

Goals:

Aims to establish the normal values for human intervertebral discs using the Decay Variance technique and determine whether these values differ in people suffering chronic low back pain