Relationship among the traumatic spinal canal stenosis,location of conus medullaris,and neurologic deficits in burst fracture of the first lumbar vertebra / 中国矫形外科杂志

ABSTRACT

[Objective]To assess whether the canal compromise and the location of conus medullaris determine neurological deficit in burst fracture of the first lumbar vertebra(L1).[Method]Twenty-seven consecutive patients with L1 burst fracture were collected in the study.The compressive ratios of anterior and posterior heights of fractured vertebral bodies,the remains to the estimated ones of the original vertebral bodies were measured on the radiogram,the extent of spinal canal compromise was assessed by computed tomography,and the location of conus medullaris was determined by the MRI examination.The neurological status was evaluated according to the standard neurological classification of spinal cord injury(ASIA).[Result]The compressive ratio of the anterior height was 0.63,the posterior height was 0.91,the stenotic ratio of the canal mid-sagital diameter was 0.69,the stenotic ratio of the distance between pedicles was 1.14,and the stenotic ratio of canal area was 0.83.The group having the stenotic ratio of canal area below 0.5 was at significant risk of neurologic involvement than the control [above(or equal to) 0.5(P=0.049)],and the group with lower conus medullaris had more serious neurological deficit than the upper ones(P=0.046).[Conclusion]There is a significant difference of neurological deficit between the groups with the spinal canal stenosis level of more than 50% and less 50%,and the group with lower conus medullaris had more serious neurological deficit than the upper one.