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Predictors Of Paralysis In The Rheumatoid Cervical Spine In Patients Undergoing Total Joint Arthroplasty., Jonathan N Grauer, Edwin M Tingstad, Nahshon Rand, Michael J Christie, Alan Hilibrand
Predictors Of Paralysis In The Rheumatoid Cervical Spine In Patients Undergoing Total Joint Arthroplasty., Jonathan N Grauer, Edwin M Tingstad, Nahshon Rand, Michael J Christie, Alan Hilibrand
Rothman Institute Faculty Papers
BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis is sometimes associated with radiographic evidence of instability of the cervical spine, most commonly an abnormal subluxation between vertebrae. When this instability compromises the space that is available for the spinal cord, it may be predictive of paralysis. However, the prevalence of radiographic signs of instability that are predictive of paralysis among patients with nonspinal orthopaedic manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown.
METHODS: Radiographs of the cervical spine of patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had undergone total joint arthroplasty over a five-year period were retrospectively reviewed. The radiographs were evaluated for predictors of paralysis (a posterior atlantodental …