Abstract:

Objective Explore the diagnosis and treatment characteristics of spinal tuberculosis (STB). Methods Clinical data of all 96 cases of STB patients in Xiangyang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from June 2013 to June 2018 were collected, clinical characteristics, laboratory results, imaging manifestations, treatment methods and prognosis were recorded and analyzed. Results Ninety-six patients were included in this study, including 51 males and 45 females, age ranging from 13 to 73, with an average age of (48.3±10.6) years old. 10.4% (10/96) of the patients were urban residents, and 89.6% (86/96) of the patients were suburban residents. The main symptom was back pain (90.6%, 87/96). X-ray detection rate was 85.4% (82/96), CT or MRI detection rate was 92.7% (89/96), the most common involved segment was the lumbar spine (52.1%, 50/96). 83.3% (80/96) of the patients completed CRP test, the abnormal rate was 72.9% (70/96); 85.4% (82/96) patients completed ESR examination, the abnormal rate was 79.2% (76/96). 21.9% (21/96) patients underwent one-stage anterior surgery, 62.5% (60/96) patients underwent one-stage posterior surgery, and 15.6% (15/96) patients underwent combined anterior and posterior surgery. Finally, 85 patients (88.5%) reached the standard of cure less than 18-months treatment. The other 2 patients had more underlying diseases, resulting in long-term sinus failure. Nine patients did not recover at the last follow-up (≥18 months) because they did not receive standard anti-tuberculosis treatment after operation. Conclusion The most common symptom of spinal tuberculosis patients is lumbar and back pain, the detection rate by imaging examination is high, the proportion of rural population is large, and the compliance of patients is poor. Therefore, the publicity of spinal tuberculosis knowledge and follow-up should be strengthened to improve the sensitivity and compliance of patients, so as to improve the cure rate.

Key words: Tuberculosis, spinal, Disease attributes, Treatment outcome, Retrospective studies