Evaluation of the systemic inflammatory response in patients with a spinal synovial cyst or lumbar disc herniation

Aims: This study aimed to determine whether a systemic inflammatory response occurs in patients with spinal synovial cysts (SSC) and patients with lumbar disc herniation. Methods: Patients who underwent surgery for SSC or lumbar disc herniation between 2016-2022 were included in the study. To compare the results of these patients, patients who applied to the outpatient clinic due to headaches but did not find any abnormal findings in the radiological examinations were also included. Age, gender, duration of stay in the hospital, comorbidity, and histopathological evaluation results were recorded for all patients. The lumbar T2 weighted MR sagittal and axial images obtained on admission to the hospital were examined. The venous blood samples taken from the patients on first admission to the hospital were analyzed biochemically. Results: There was no statistical difference between the three groups regarding age, gender, and blood biochemistry parameters. Furthermore, no statistical difference was found between SSC patients and patients with lumbar disc herniation in age, gender, cyst or herniated disc localization levels, comorbidity, and blood biochemistry analysis results. Correlation analysis for the findings of all patients revealed that no parameters were correlated with the study groups. ROC-Curve test and Logistic Regression tests showed that no parameter could be a predictive marker in differentiating SSC from disc herniation. Conclusion: Study results demonstrated that neither SSC nor disc herniation caused a systemic inflammatory or allergic reaction in the patients. In addition, it was determined that no biochemical parameter could distinguish disc herniation from SSC.