Spine

  There is evidence of the short-term efficacy of opioids to treat chronic low back pain, however, the effectiveness and safety of long-term opioid therapy for the same condition remains unproven, according to a study published in Spine.

A team of researchers recently examined ICD-9-CM discharge codes in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample to compare hospital medical coder-assigned codes to the surgeon diagnosis, according to a Newswise report.

A prospective analysis of adverse events in patients who undergo surgery for degenerative spondylolisthesis was recently published in The Spine Journal.

Jackson Hospital in Montgomery, Ala., has unveiled a new device that will be used to navigate spine surgery, the first of its kind in the state, according to an ABC 32 WNCF TV report.

The North American Spine Society participates in the Advancing Medical Professionalism to Improve Health Care Foundation's "Choosing Wisely" campaign, which was recently criticized in a Kaiser Health News report.

The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery recently included a report on complications in patients who underwent cervical spine surgery with recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein.

The Pain Management Center of Long Island, a division of North American Partners in Pain Management, plans to open a new office in Long Island, N.Y., next week.

The spine care field grew immensely over the past few decades and now there are multiple treatment options for patients with back pain and deformity. The treatment patients receive often depends on which specialists they see and the specialist's education…

New London (N.H.) Hospital announced that Harold Pikus, MD, of Lebanon, N.H.-based Upper Valley Neurology Neurosurgery, will begin seeing patients at the hospital in June.

University of New Mexico's Sandoval Regional Medical Center in Rio Rancho has expanded its spinal surgery options with the addition of an endoscopic spine surgery program, according to an Albuquerque Journal report.