Efficacy of one-stage posterior debridement and bone grafting with internal fixation in the treatment of mono-segmental thoracolumbar tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND: We explored the clinical effect of one-stage posterior debridement and bone grafting with internal fixation for the treatment of monosegmental thoracolumbar tuberculosis (TB). METHODS: The data from 90 patients with thoracolumbar TB, who had undergone one-stage posterior debridement and bone grafting with internal fixation, were retrospectively reviewed. Data on the operative time, blood loss, length of hospital stay, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, improvement of neurological function, visual analog scale score, vertebral Cobb angle, bone healing, and complications were collected. RESULTS: A total of 88 patients were finally included in the present retrospective study, included 42 men and 46 women. The mean patient age was 45.4 +/- 12.3 years (range, 27-70), and the mean duration of disease until treatment was 11 +/- 4.5 months (range, 3-19). The mean operative time was 167.0 minutes (range, 130-210), and the mean blood loss was 767.4 mL (range, 500-1150). At the final follow-up examination, the correction in the Cobb angle was 19 degrees, the visual analog scale score had decreased to 3 +/- 1.72, the neurologic deficits using the Frankel grade had improved, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein level had returned to normal levels. CONCLUSION: One-stage posterior debridement and bone grafting with internal fixation might be a better choice for treating patients with monosegment thoracolumbar TB.