Outcomes of different surgical procedures in the treatment of spinal tuberculosis in adults.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate surgical methods and outcomes in the treatment of spinal tuberculosis (TB) in adults.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: One hundred and eighty-one patients (average age 39 years) without multiple-level noncontiguous spinal TB were followed up for 22-72 months. The patients were divided into four groups according to surgical procedure on the basis of the position and extension of the foci: group A (74 cases): anterior radical debridement and strut grafting with instrumentation; group B (83 cases): posterior instrumentation and bone grafting with anterior radical debridement and strut grafting in a single- or two-stage procedure; group C (10 cases): extrapleural anterolateral decompression and strut grafting with posterior instrumentation in thoracic or thoracolumbar spine, and group D (27 cases): single-stage transforaminal decompression and posterior instrumentation and fusion.

RESULTS: There was a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in mean preoperative (81%) Oswestry's Disability Index. Except for 24 patients with lumbosacral TB who were only instrumented posteriorly, kyphosis degrees were corrected by a mean of 11.5° in the anterior instrumentation group and 12.6° in the posterior instrumentation group (p < 0.01). The correction loss was 6.8° in the anterior instrumentation group and 6.1° in the posterior instrumentation group at the last follow-up (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION: The four surgical procedures obtained good results for correction and maintenance of the correction, clearance of the foci, decompression of the spinal cord and pain relief in the treatment of spinal TB in adults, providing that the operative indication is accurately identified. However, the posterior approach was superior to anterior instrumentation for correcting deformity and maintaining the correction.