Clinical Features and Outcomes of Spinal Tuberculosis in Central China

Abstract

Purpose The appropriate management of spinal tuberculosis (TB) is challenging for clinicians and the key to treat spinal TB. Surgery and long course anti-TB chemotherapy may not be necessary to all situations. This study aimed to characterize the clinical features and factors affecting treatment outcomes. Patients and Methods A retrospective study of patients with spinal TB over a 5-year period at a teaching hospital in central China was conducted. Features of patients with spinal TB who received different treatment modalities and factors associated with patient outcomes at the end of chemotherapy were analyzed. Results Forty-five patients (21 men and 24 women) with spinal TB were available for analysis. The mean age was 55.39 ± 14.94 years. The most common vertebral area involved was the lumbar (42.2%). The mean number of vertebrae involved was 2.20 ± 0.59. 27 patients (60.0%) received surgical treatment, of which 21 (77.8%) received radical surgical treatment. Thirty-five patients (77.8%) had achieved a favorable status. Statistically, there was no significant correlation between favorable status and surgery, but among 27 surgical patients with spinal tuberculosis, patients receiving radical surgery tended to achieve good prognosis ( P = 0.010; odds ratio = 0.053; 95% confidence interval 0.006–0.493). Moreover, there was no significant difference between long course and short course of anti-TB chemotherapy in prognosis in different treatment modalities. Conclusion Although the patients with spinal TB who needed surgical treatment often got a better prognosis when they had radical surgery, surgery was not actually a factor for the favorable outcomes of patients with spinal TB. In different treatment modalities, there was no additional benefit in longer anti-TB chemotherapy periods.

Prediction model for spinal cord injury in spinal tuberculosis patients using multiple machine learning algorithms: a multicentric study

“…A multicenter study demonstrated that the monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were notably greater in patients with active tuberculosis than in those with latent tuberculosis 34 . Additionally, well-known indicators,such as ESR and CRP concentration, are commonly used to evaluate the degree of inflammation in patients with tuberculosis 35 and are associated with the prognosis of STB 36 , 37 . Nutritional status is also a vital factor affecting the progression and prognosis of spinal tuberculosis patients, and research has shown that the serum ALB concentration is an important laboratory marker for predicting SCI and prognosis in STB patients 38 .…”