Airport security alarms went off when children who had cobalt chrome spinal fusion implants in their backs tried to go through security. Twenty-four percent of 50 pediatric spinal fusion patients set off TSA metal detector alarms, according to Regina P. Woon, MPH , of Children’s’ Hospital in Los Angeles who reported on the events at the 2015 annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) in Las Vegas. None of those with stainless steel implants triggered alarms, she said.
Spinal Implants Set Off Airport Alarms
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Sarah Wallan, staff writer for MedPage Today, reported that the children who set off the alarms in a U.S. airport ranged in ages from 4 to 22. Their average age when they had their surgery was 14. All of the youth underwent spinal surgery between 2004 and 2013.
Wallan reports that out of 28 patients with cobalt chrome rod in their backs, 18% set off the archway metal detectors, and 17% triggered full-body scanner alarms.
Previous research, reported by Wallan, found that roughly half of all orthopedic implants set off metal detectors in airport settings. When compared with stainless steel, cobalt chrome and titanium implants were believed to be more likely to trigger the alarm. However, other researchers report that t titanium did not set off any alarms at walk-through airport metal detectors.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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