SHORT ANSWER
COVID-19 NEWS
The Economics of Safety
ORTHOPEDICS
Pediatric orthopedic surgeons and spine specialists Mark Erickson , MD , MMM , and Sumeet Garg , MD , helped author two studies that were selected as finalists for best clinical paper by the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America .
The first , “ Minimize Implants Maximize Outcomes Clinical Trial ,” subsequently won the award for best clinical paper . As coinvestigators , Drs . Erickson , Garg and team were part of a multicenter randomized controlled trial aimed at testing the efficacy of high- versus low-implant density constructs among patients undergoing surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis . Implants provide rigid stability for posterior spinal fusions . Yet there remains a delicate balance between patient safety and cost regarding implant density and implants per vertebrae fused . The study ultimately found no difference in outcomes or complications in high- versus low-implant density constructs .
The second paper , titled “ Use of Ultrasonic Bone Scalpel in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis ,” was a single-site study led by Drs . Erickson and Garg . It compared the efficacy of an ultrasonic bone scalpel with standard of care surgical instruments during posterior spine fusion with instrumentation . Minimizing blood loss has important patient safety and cost saving implications , and the study found that blood loss per level fused was not significantly different with the ultrasonic bone scalpel . •
Modify on the Fly
Are there innovative solutions we can implement to help our providers and our community better identify and combat COVID-19 ?
With what little lead time it had , the Children ’ s Hospital Colorado Microbiology Lab did the most it could to ensure coronavirus pandemic preparedness — including lobbying for reduced government regulations related to testing . As it turns out , children ’ s hospitals have not had to bear the brunt of significant COVID-19 patient volume . So the CLIA-certified , high-complexity clinical lab , which already provides extremely robust clinical laboratory services both inhouse and to external clients , sought to offer its assistance in other creative ways .
See Cutting-Edge ‘ Co-bot ’ on page 16 for more innovative work from the Spine Program .
8 | CHILDREN ’ S HOSPITAL COLORADO