Theodore Quan

Vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) represent the most prevalent osteoporotic fracture and constitute a growing cause of morbidity, mortality, and healthcare utilization worldwide. Although often considered benign, VCFs are associated with chronic pain, progressive spinal deformity, functional impairment, decreased pulmonary capacity, and increased short- and long-term mortality, especially in older adults. Despite their high prevalence, key challenges persist regarding appropriate diagnostic evaluation, optimal treatment selection, and integration of osteoporosis management following fracture. This narrative review consolidates current evidence on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnostic evaluation, management strategies, and public health implications of VCFs, with a focus on emerging spine-focused care models. VCFs predominantly result from compromised vertebral strength secondary to osteoporosis-related deterioration of trabecular microarchitecture, although traumatic and pathologic etiologies should also be considered. Diagnosis involves careful clinical assessment combined with imaging, with magnetic resonance imaging serving as a key modality for distinguishing acute fractures from chronic deformities or malignancy. Despite advances in diagnostic techniques, VCFs remain underrecognized and undertreated, contributing to avoidable disability and recurrent fractures. This narrative review synthesizes contemporary evidence, highlighting practical considerations for clinical decisionmaking in VCF care. Particular emphasis is placed on differentiating acute symptomatic fractures from chronic deformities or pathologic collapse, identifying patients most likely to benefit from vertebral augmentation, and defining surgical indications in the setting of neurologic compromise, instability, or progressive deformity. Conservative management, incorporating analgesia, early mobilization, and rehabilitation, remains the first-line approach for most stable fractures. Vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty may provide short-term pain relief in carefully selected patients with persistent symptoms. However, the long-term benefits of augmentation and optimal patient selection criteria remain under investigation. Treatment options range from conservative measures—including analgesia, bracing, mobilization, rehabilitation, and osteoporosis-directed pharmacotherapy—to minimally invasive vertebral augmentation procedures such as vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty. Vertebral augmentation may provide short-term improvements in pain and function in appropriately selected patients, although its long-term benefits and optimal indications remain under investigation. Surgical decompression and stabilization are reserved for patients with neurological compromise, instability, or progressive deformity. From a public health perspective, deficiencies in osteoporosis screening, delayed diagnosis, and disparities in treatment access continue to affect diverse socioeconomic and racial groups. Emerging innovations, including fracture liaison services, risk stratification tools such as FRAX, and artificial intelligence–based predictive models, may enhance early detection and personalized care. VCFs represent sentinel manifestations of systemic skeletal fragility that warrant evaluation of underlying osteoporosis and implementation of secondary fracture prevention. Pharmacologic therapies, including antiresorptive and anabolic agents, play a key role in reducing recurrent fracture risk, although treatment selection should be individualized. Multidisciplinary, patient-centered strategies focused on early diagnosis, prevention, equitable care delivery, and standardized management are essential to address the growing global burden of VCFs. A structured, patient-centered approach to diagnosis, treatment selection, and post-fracture care may enhance outcomes and reduce the long-term burden associated with VCFs.

Introduction: Postoperative infection remains a significant concern and technical challenge for spine surgeons. Preoperative albumin level may predict risk of infection, but no definitive consensus regarding the optimal preoperative albumin level in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) has been reached. Therefore, this study aimed (1) to determine the impact of preoperative albumin on complications following ACDF and (2) to identify optimal albumin threshold that minimizes the likelihood of infection following ACDF.Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis was performed using a national database. Patients with a preoperative measurement of albumin prior to ACDF were included, whereas patients undergoing multilevel ACDF were excluded. Stratum-specific likelihood ratio (SSLR) analysis was conducted to determine data-driven albumin strata that minimized the likelihood of infectious complications within 30 days of ACDF.Results: A total of 30,896 ACDF patients were included in this study. Stratum-specific likelihood ratio analysis identified two albumin strata: 1-3 and 3+ g/dL prior to surgery. Relative to the 3+ g/dL cohort, the 1-3 g/dL cohort was more likely to experience 30-day infectious complications such as deep surgical site infection (SSI) (OR: 8.02, P<0.001) and SSI domain (OR: 4.85, P<0.001).Conclusions: This study demonstrates a significant association between preoperative albumin level and infectious complications following ACDF. These results emphasize the importance of integrating nutritional management strategies into the broader context of surgical decision-making, thus contributing to enhanced patient outcomes and quality of care in spine surgery.

Background: Orthopaedic traveling fellowship programs provide surgeons with valuable opportunities for professional growth and specialized learning. However, there has been limited research on the impact of such programs on scholarly success and career advancement. The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic, academic, and scholarly outcomes of traveling fellowship participants. Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis of orthopaedic surgeons who participated in a traveling fellowship program from 1989 to 2024. Demographic and academic characteristics were collected for each traveling fellowship recipient, including residency program attended, fellowship specialty, fellowship institution, academic rank, current practice environment, and leadership roles. The Scopus database was used to determine individual H-indices and number of publications. Other characteristics included board position in a major orthopaedic society, National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding, Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) grant recipient, advanced degrees, and editorial board position in an orthopaedic journal. Descriptive and regression statistics were used for the study. Results: Of the 558 physicians who participated in an orthopaedic traveling fellowship, demographic and academic information was available for 506 of them (90.7%). Of these, the majority (96.6%) only completed 1 traveling fellowship. Predominantly, recipients were male (90.7%) and White (79.1%) and had completed a sports fellowship (33.0%). Current practicing environment was often academic (76.5%), with most holding the rank of professor (51.0%). Seventy-two participants (14.2%) had a leadership role as chair and 48 (9.5%) were division chiefs. Participants had an average H-index of 35.7 and averaged 169.9 publications. One hundred seventy-three fellowship recipients (34.2%) received an OREF grant and 67 (13.2%) received NIH research funding. Fellowship participants who received an OREF grant or NIH funding were more likely to have a higher faculty rank, higher H-index, and an increase in the number of publications (p < 0.001 for all). Conclusion: The lessons, skills, and knowledge from traveling fellowships appear to play an important role in shaping the academic and scholarly career of orthopaedic surgeons. Level of Evidence: Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Study Design: Retrospective Cohort Study. Objective: Isthmic spondylolisthesis is frequently encountered in spine surgical practice, though there is a significant variation in surgical management strategies. We sought to evaluate revision rates between patients who underwent anterior-approach lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) alone, posterolateral fusion (PLF) alone, PLIF/TLIF, and ALIF+PSF. Methods: This retrospective study utilized a large commercial insurance claims database of patients ≤65 years-old. Patients with isthmic spondylolisthesis who underwent single-level instrumented arthrodesis were included, and those who underwent revision surgery, surgery for deformity, multi-level surgery, or surgery for traumatic, infectious, or neoplastic etiologies were excluded, as determined by ICD-10-CM and CPT codes. Patients were assigned to surgical cohorts of ALIF alone, PLF alone, PLIF/TLIF, and ALIF+PSF based on CPT codes. Additional independent variables included age, sex, decompression at index surgery, and region. The primary outcome was revision arthrodesis or decompression, defined using CPT codes. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox Proportional Hazards regression were utilized to assess differences in revision occurrence between cohorts. Results: 1014 patients who underwent single-level arthrodesis for isthmic spondylolisthesis were included. The mean age was 48.6 years, with a mean follow-up of 637.6 days. The majority of patients underwent PLIF/TLIF (60.6%, n = 614), followed by ALIF+PSF (18.5%, n = 188), PLF alone (14.4%, n = 146), and ALIF alone (6.5%, n = 66). The 5-year revision-rate was 11.0% for all patients in the Kaplan-Meier analysis. In multivariable analysis adjusting for confounding factors, ALIF-alone demonstrated significantly higher occurrence of revision compared to both ALIF+PSF (HR 5.0, P = 0.0026) and PLIF/TLIF (HR 5.8, P < 0.0001) groups. Similarly, PLF alone demonstrated significantly higher occurrence of revision surgery compared to PLIF/TLIF (HR 2.4, P = 0.0379) while other comparisons were not statistically significant. Conclusions: In this analysis of single-level arthrodesis for isthmic spondylolisthesis, patients who underwent ALIF alone had higher revision rates than those who underwent PLIF/TLIF and ALIF+PSF surgery, and those who underwent PLF alone had higher revision rates than those who underwent PLIF/TLIF. Surgical strategies providing both anterior and posterior column support resulted in lower real-world revision rates.

Purpose The 5-item modified frailty index (mFI-5) has been established as a reliable indicator of poor postoperative outcomes following a variety of orthopaedic procedures. This study aims to determine whether the mFI-5 can be used by surgeons to predict the likelihood of postoperative complications in patients undergoing open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) for tibial plateau fractures. Methods From 2006 to 2019, patients aged 50 years or older undergoing ORIF for tibial plateau fracture were identified in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. The mFI-5 was calculated based on the sum of the presence of 5 conditions: diabetes, congestive heart failure, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and dependent functional status. Chi-squared tests and multivariable regression analysis were used to evaluate the association of different mFI-5 scores with postoperative complications. Results The study analyzed 2213 patients with an average age of 63 years. Multivariable regression analysis demonstrated that in comparison to patients with a mFI-5 score of 0, those with a score of 1 had an increased risk of prolonged hospital stay (OR 1.31) and discharge to a non-home location (OR 1.50) while those with a score of 2 or greater were at an increased risk of readmission (OR 2.30), wound complication (OR 5.37), pulmonary complication (OR 4.56), urinary tract infection (OR 4.79), prolonged hospital stay (OR 1.89), and discharge to a non-home location (OR 3.01). Conclusion The mFI-5 is a reliable instrument for determining the likelihood of postoperative complications following ORIF for tibial plateau fracture repair. Level of evidence III.

Introduction: Blood transfusions are associated with an increased risk of complications after lumbar fusion, and current anemia hemoglobin thresholds are not surgery specific. We aimed to calculate single-level lumbar fusion–specific preoperative hemoglobin strata that observe the likelihood of 90-day transfusion and evaluate whether these strata are associated with increased risk of 90-day complications and 2-year infections. Methods: A national database identified patients undergoing primary single-level lumbar fusion with preoperative hemoglobin values (g/dL). Stratum-specific likelihood ratio analysis calculated sex-based hemoglobin strata associated with the risk of 90-day transfusion. Incidence and risk of 90-day major complications and 2-year infections were observed between strata. Results: Three female (hemoglobin strata, likelihood ratio [<10.9, 2.41; 11.0 to 12.4, 1.35; 12.5 to 17.0, 0.78]) and male (<11.9, 2.95; 12.0 to 13.4, 1.46; 13.5 to 13.9, 0.71) strata were associated with varying likelihood of 90-day blood transfusion. Increased 90-day complication risk was associated with two female strata (hemoglobin strata, relative risk [11.0 to 12.4, 1.52; <10.9, 3.40]) and one male stratum (<11.9, 2.02). Increased 2-year infection risk was associated with one female (<10.9, 3.67) and male stratum (<11.9, 2.11). Conclusion: Stratum-specific likelihood ratio analysis established sex-based single-level lumbar fusion–specific hemoglobin strata that observe the likelihood of 90-day transfusion and the risk of 90-day major complications and 2-year infections. These thresholds are a unique addition to the literature and can assist in counseling patients on their postoperative risk profile and in preoperative patient optimization. Level of evidence: Level III.

Introduction While pediatric femoral shaft fractures account for less than 2% of all fractures in children, they are the most common pediatric fracture requiring hospitalization. Management of pediatric femoral shaft fractures is challenging, with various treatment options relating to severity and patient age. The last few decades have seen an increased supply of pediatric orthopedic surgeons (POS) along with increased referral rates. However, there continues to be a maldistribution of POS throughout the country. This study sought to determine outcomes following femoral shaft fracture repair by POS compared to non-pediatric trained orthopedic surgeons. Methods The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-Pediatric database was queried to identify pediatric patients who underwent open treatment of femoral shaft fracture from 2012 to 2019. Differences in patient demographics, comorbidities, and postoperative complications were assessed and compared between patients who were treated by pediatric subspecialty-trained orthopedic surgeons and those treated by non-pediatric orthopedic surgeons. Bivariate and multivariable regression analyses were utilized. Results Of the 5862 pediatric patients who underwent femoral shaft fracture treatment, 4875 (83.2%) had their surgeries performed by a POS whereas 987 (16.8%) were operated on by a non-pediatric surgeon. POS were more likely to operate on patients with a higher American Society of Anesthesiologists classification (p < 0.001) and those with medical comorbidities, including gastrointestinal (p = 0.022) and neurological (p < 0.001). After controlling for baseline patient characteristics on multivariable regression analysis, patients treated by non-pediatric orthopaedic surgeons are at an increased risk of prolonged hospital stay (OR 2.595; p < 0.001) when compared to patients operated on by POS. Conclusion The results indicated that patients undergoing surgical treatment for a femoral shaft fracture by a non-pediatric trained orthopedic surgeon were at increased risk of a prolonged hospital stay compared to those being treated by POS. Additionally, POS were more likely to operate on more difficult patients with increased comorbidities.