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