Surgical management of lumbar brucella spondylitis by posterior short-segment internal fixation / 中华骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the clinical efficacy of posterior short-segment internal fixation for the treatment of brucella spondylitis (BS).Methods:The medical records of 34 patients with BS admitted from January 2014 to June 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 22 males and 12 females; the age was 52.3±10.6 years (range 35-72 years). On the basis of standardized use of antibacterial drugs, the lumbar spine posterior short-segment internal fixation was used. Twenty-nine cases underwent simple internal fixation, and posterolateral bone graft fusion, while 5 cases underwent primary debridement, autologous bone grafting and interbody fusion. Monitor erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and test tube agglutination test (SAT) were used to assess inflammation control. Imaging examinations of patients before operation, 1 month after operation, 3 months after operation, 6 months after operation, 1 year after operation to the last follow-up were analyzed to evaluate the condition of intervertebral fusion. The clinical efficacy evaluation was based on the pain visual analog scale (VAS), Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, modified MacNab grading, and American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grading, as well as surgery-related complications.Results:The operation time of 34 patients was 104.64±16.72 min (range 65-145 min), the average hospital stay was 16.49±7.41 days (range 7-38 d), and the average postoperative follow-up time was 20.2 months (range 12-34 months). At the last follow-up, the ESR and CRP fell to the normal range, and the SAT was negative. At 3 months postoperatively, 11 cases (32.35%) reached Bridwell fusion criteria of grade II, 23 cases (67.65%) of grade III; 3 cases (8.82%) of grade I fusion at 6 months after surgery, 31 cases reached grade II fusion (91.18%); all reached grade I fusion at the last follow-up. After the operation, the symptoms of the waist or lower extremities were significantly relieved. The VAS score was 6.3±1.4 before the operation, 4.1±1.2 at 1 month after the operation, 2.7±1.4 at 3 months after the operation, 1.6±1.0 at 6 months after the operation, and 1.2±0.8 at the last follow-up. The JOA score before surgery was 13.8±2.4, 1 month after surgery 17.6±2.6, 3 months after surgery 21.7±3.1, 6 months after operation 4.9±2.7, and at the last follow-up 25.7±1.8. Compared with the preoperative time nodes of the above indicators, the differences were statistically significant. At the last follow-up, of the 12 patients (2 cases of grade C, 10 cases of grade D) with preoperative neurological dysfunction, 2 cases recovered from grade C to grade D, and 10 cases recovered from grade D to E; the excellent and good rate of modified MacNab grading reached 97.06% (33/34). No extradural hematoma, nerve damage, cerebrospinal fluid leakage and other surgical complications occurred. Only 1 case had wound infection complication, and the prognosis was good after active treatment. There were no recurrences during the follow-up period.Conclusion:On the basis of standardized antimicrobial treatment, posterior lumbar short-segment internal fixation is a safe and effective method for the treatment of BS, and good clinical effects can be obtained.