The spinal column is involved in less than 1% of all cases of tuberculosis (TB). Spinal TB is a very dangerous type of skeletal TB as it can be associated with neurologic deficit due to compression of adjacent neural structures and significant spinal deformity. Therefore, early diagnosis and management of spinal TB has special importance in preventing these serious complications. In order to extract current trends in diagnosis and medical or surgical treatment of spinal TB we performed a narrative review with analysis of all the articles available for us which were published between 1990 and 2011. Althoug h the development of more accurate imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging and advanced surgical techniques have made the early diagnosis and management of spinal TB much easier, these are still very challenging topics. In this review we aim to discuss the diagnosis and management of spinal TB based on studies with acceptable design, clearly explained results and justifiable conclusions.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Early Diagnosis ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Spine ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Spinal

Multiple variables can influence triage decision in multiple trauma. Recognition of priorities and selection of the destination can be successfully achieved by field triage and individualized clinical judgment. This narrative review summarizes the new options and protocols for transport of injured subjects. There are four levels of emergency medical providers including first responders and three levels of emergency medical technicians. Two distinct accepted protocols for transport are known as scoop and run and treat and then transfer. The former provides minimum lifesaving treatment at the scene of accident followed by transferring the patient(s) as soon as possible, and the latter mainly emphasizes the need for complete stabilization as a prerequisite for safe transport. The destination and mode of transport are selected according to clinical capabilities of the receiving hospital, transfer time from the scene to the facility, patient's medical condition, accessibility of the scene, and weather. Two common methods of transfer are ground transport, including various type of ambulances, and air medical transport, i.e. helicopter and airplane.
Air Ambulances ; Decision Making ; Humans ; Mass Casualty Incidents ; Multiple Trauma ; therapy ; Transportation of Patients ; organization & administration ; Triage

Methods: Using the STROBE checklist for cross-sectional studies, 110 patients with scoliosis were selected based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria. Among the patients, 76 presented with ISC and 34 with CSC. Demographic data and other details, such as the results of spine radiography, UDS, and magnetic resonance imaging of the spine in both supine and prone positions, were recorded and analyzed. Results: Approximately 50% of patients with CSC had normal UDS findings; 8.8%, mild impairment; and 41.2%, significant abnormalities. Moreover, 67.1% of patients with ISC had normal UDS findings; 9.2%, mild impairment; and 23.7%, significant abnormalities (p =0.166). TCS was identified in 38.2% and 26.3% of patients with CSC and ISC, respectively (p =0.571). In patients with ISC, a significantly abnormal UDS finding indicated that the risk of TCS increased from 26.3% to 50% (odds ratio [OR], 4.2; p =0.009). Meanwhile, in patients with CSC, the risk was almost similar (OR, 0.8; p =0.8). Conclusions Even with the absence of subjective urinary symptoms, subclinical urologic impairments can be observed in a significant number of patients with ISC. An abnormal UDS finding can be a sign of underlying spinal cord tethering in a patient with ISC who is a candidate for corrective spine surgery even though it is an independent variant and is not exclusive to candidates for surgery. This finding has high clinical utility for neuro- and ortho-spine surgeons who aim to correct scoliosis (OR, 4.2; p =0.009).

PURPOSEThere are some studies which showed neurofeedback therapy (NFT) can be effective in clients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) history. However, randomized controlled clinical trials are still needed for evaluation of this treatment as a standard option. This preliminary study was aimed to evaluate the effect of NFT on continuous attention (CA) and short-term memory (STM) of clients with moderate TBI using a randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT).

METHODSIn this preliminary RCT, seventeen eligible patients with moderate TBI were randomly allocated in two intervention and control groups. All the patients were evaluated for CA and STM using the visual continuous attention test and Wechsler memory scale-4th edition (WMS-IV) test, respectively, both at the time of inclusion to the project and four weeks later. The intervention group participated in 20 sessions of NFT through the first four weeks. Conversely, the control group participated in the same NF sessions from the fifth week to eighth week of the project.

RESULTSEight subjects in the intervention group and five subjects in the control group completed the study. The mean and standard deviation of participants' age were (26.75 ± 15.16) years and (27.60 ± 8.17) years in experiment and control groups, respectively. All of the subjects were male. No significant improvement was observed in any variables of the visual continuous attention test and WMS-IV test between two groups (p ≥ 0.05).

CONCLUSIONBased on our literature review, it seems that our study is the only study performed on the effect of NFT on TBI patients with control group. NFT has no effect on CA and STM in patients with moderate TBI. More RCTs with large sample sizes, more sessions of treatment, longer time of follow-up and different protocols are recommended.