The outcome of allografts and anterior instrumentation in spinal tuberculosis

Spinal tuberculosis is the most common form of osteoarticular tuberculosis. Fractures, slippage, and increasing deformity have been reported with the use of autologous rib grafts after anterior spinal decompression. Forty-one patients with neurologic deficits caused by spinal tuberculosis had radical anterior decompression, and the anterior column was reconstructed with fresh-frozen femoral allografts and stabilized with a single-rod screw construct. Antituberculous therapy was administered for 12 months and complete neurologic recovery occurred in 32 patients. The incorporation of allografts commenced between 12 and 18 months. Fusion and remodeling was observed in 33 patients and partial remodeling with fusion was observed in eight patients at a mean followup of 6.4 years. Forty-two percent correction of the kyphosis was achieved and there were no cases of fracture or late sepsis. Fresh-frozen allografts and anterior instrumentation are superior to rib grafts in supporting the anterior spinal column, and although fusion occurred late, the grafts remained stable.     

Cortical strut allografts for femoral reconstruction in revision hip arthroplasty

One hundred thirty-six cortical strut allografts fixed to the femur in revision hip surgery were studied using quantitative and qualitative radiographic analysis. In addition, 58 patients were clinically evaluated. The grafts showed a consistent behavior characterized by some resorption, bony bridging between host and graft, and a high incidence of union. The grafts showed evidence of revascularization and in some cases complete incorporation. The average Harris scores in the clinical group increased from 48 to 79 and was not influenced by the quality of bone before revision. Strut allografting of the femur in revision surgery is a reliable method of augmenting bone stock.     

Atypical spinal tuberculosis

Typical spinal tuberculosis is readily diagnosed and treated. Certain atypical clinical and radiologic presentations of spinal tuberculosis are described. Failure to recognize these presentations may lead to delay in diagnosis and initiation of treatment. In some atypical forms of the disease, this may have disastrous consequences. The current authors present a new classification for atypical spinal tuberculosis and describe the various presentations. The role of advanced imaging studies such as computed tomography scanning and magnetic resonance imaging and imaging-guided aspiration cytology is discussed.     

Imaging update in spinal tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is ancient disease known to mankind. Diagnosis and management of spinal tuberculosis has immensely improved in last few decades. Imaging, particularly MRI, plays important role in diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis and its complications. Four common imaging patterns of spinal tuberculosis include paradiscal type, central type, Anterior subligamentous type, and posterior type. Imaging also plays important role in differentiation of spinal tuberculosis from its mimics, particularly pyogenic spondylitis, and metastasis. Radiological interventions, such as CT guided vertebral biopsy, and percutaneous drainage of cold abscess, are commonly used in management of spinal tuberculosis. Monitoring of therapeutic response is often based on clinical evaluation and imaging. MRI is most common imaging modality used. Signs of healing include bony ankylosis, resolution of marrow edema, decrease in contrast enhancement, and fatty change with in bone marrow. PET CT is recently evaluated for response assessment with promising results. This review summarizes pathophysiology, clinical presentation, imaging features, radiological interventions, and response assessment in spinal tuberculosis.     

Instrumented stabilization in spinal tuberculosis

Spinal tuberculosis (TB) produces neurological complications and grotesque spinal deformity, which in children increases even with treatment and after achieving healing. Long-standing, severe deformity leads to painful costo-pelvic impingement, respiratory distress, risk of developing late-onset paraplegia and consequent reduction in quality and longevity of life. The treatment objective is to avoid the sequelae of neural complications and achieve the healed status with a near-normal spine. In TB, the spine may become unstable if all three columns are diseased. Pathological fracture/dislocation of a diseased vertebral body may occur secondary to mechanical insult. Surgical decompression adds further instability, as part of the diseased vertebral body is excised. The insertion of a metallic implant is to provide mechanical stability and the use of an implant in tubercular infection is safe. Indications for instrumented stabilisation can be categorised as: (a) pan vertebral disease, in which all three columns are diseased; (b) long-segment disease, in which after surgical decompression a bone graft >5 cm is inserted with instrumentation to prevent graft-related complications and consequent progression of kyphosis and neural complications and (c) when surgical correction of a kyphosis is performed when both anterior decompression and posterior column shortening is required. The implant choice should be individualised according to the case. Pedicle screw fixation in kyphus correction in healed disease is a most suitable implant. Hartshill sublaminar wiring stabilisation in active disease is a suitable implant to stabilise the spine, taking purchase against healthy posterior complex of the vertebral body to save a segment.     

Drug therapy in spinal tuberculosis

Although the discovery of effective anti-tuberculosis drugs has made uncomplicated spinal tuberculosis a medical disease, the advent of multi-drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the co-infection of HIV with tuberculosis have led to a resurgence of the disease recently. The principles of drug treatment of spinal tuberculosis are derived from our experience in treating pulmonary tuberculosis. Spinal tuberculosis is classified to be a severe form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis and hence is included in Category I of the WHO classification. The tuberculosis bacilli isolated from patients are of four different types with different growth kinetics and metabolic characteristics. Hence multiple drugs, which act on the different groups of the mycobacteria, are included in each anti-tuberculosis drug regimen. Prolonged and uninterrupted chemotherapy (which may be ‘short course’ and ‘intermittent’ but preferably ‘directly observed’) is effective in controlling the infection. Spinal Multi-drug-resistant TB and spinal TB in HIV-positive patients present unique problems in management and have much poorer prognosis. Failure of chemotherapy and emergence of drug resistance are frequent due to the failure of compliance hence all efforts must be made to improve patient compliance to the prescribed drug regimen.

     

Cortical strut allografts in salvage revision arthroplasty: Surgical technique and clinical outcomes

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to present our clinical outcomes and surgical technique in strut allografts preparation using staggered holes to enhance osteointegration and demineralised bone matrix (DBM) as an adjunct to cortical strut allografts in salvage revision arthroplasty patients.MethodsRetrospective consecutive series of patients who required strut allograft femoral reconstructions with minimum 2 years follow up between 2012 and 2018. Frozen washed irradiated, cortical struts were used and prepared adding 2 mm staggered drill holes along the length of the strut and applying DBM paste on the graft-host interface. Outcome measures included radiographic strut union, graft resorption, infection and complications.Results15 patients included; 3 males and 12 females with median age 72 years (range 60–93). All had significant bony defects (Paprosky III/IV in 12 cases including 3 cases of periprosthetic hip fractures and further 3 cases of periprosthetic knee fractures around revision hinged implants). At final follow up, median 3.8 years (range 2.7–7.2), 14/15 (93.3%) struts had united at a median 6 months (range 5–8), complete incorporation with cortical round-off was seen at median 12 months (range 8–48) in 12/15 (80%) struts, 2/15 (13.3%) show radiographic evidence of proximal minimal graft resorptions although the remainder of the strut had integrated and were asymptomatic. There were no cases of infection.ConclusionsUse of strut allografts helps to reconstruct bone defects, restore bone stock, and provide stable fixation for complex patterns of periprosthetic fractures around hip/knee implants and salvage revision cases with 93.3% union rate at median 6 months.     

儿童胸腰椎结核的手术治疗

儿童脊椎结核的早期经过规范化药物治疗多数可以治愈,当椎体破坏严重、脊椎已经失稳或者合并神经系统症状时常常需要手术治疗,传统的病灶清除加植骨手术,容易发生脊椎后凸畸形和神经系统并发症。最近几年随着内固定手术在成人脊椎结核中的成功应用,我们于2000年以来有选择的对4     

改良前方入路结核病灶清除、同种异体骨移植、内固定治疗颈胸段脊柱结核

目的：探讨通过改良前方入路进行颈胸段脊柱结核病灶清除、同种异体骨移植、内固定治疗的疗效.方法：对6例C7～T3椎体结核患者采用标准颈椎前方入路联合胸骨柄正中劈开暴露病灶,彻底清除结核肉芽组织、脓液、死骨等进行脊髓减压,次全切除相应椎体,植入同种异体髂骨块重建前柱、前方钉板内固定,术后佩戴头颈胸支具6个月,正规抗痨12个月.结果：随访18～39个月,平均28个月,6例患者均获骨性愈合,结核病变无复发,后凸角无明显丢失.结论：颈胸段改良前方入路暴露C7～T3病灶充分、安全,病灶清除后植入异体髂骨块修复骨缺损、牢固内固定,重建颈胸段的稳定性、矫正后凸畸形可靠.     

不典型脊柱结核的诊断

目的探讨不典型脊柱结核的误诊原因及诊断方法．方法分析23例不典型脊柱结核患者的临床特征和辅助检查资料。结果不典型脊柱结核具有某些结核的共有特征．X线片、CT、MRI对其诊断有重要意义,手术探查、病理检查可以明确诊断。结论导致误诊的原因主要在于对结核的认识不足及缺乏整体的观点,对有伴随症状的椎体破坏．应将脊柱结核作为主要的鉴别诊断。     

脊柱结核的外科治疗

目的根据脊柱稳定性的状况,探讨脊柱结核外科治疗的术式选择。方法本组为1997年10月~2005年2月手术治疗的脊柱结核患者共72例,根据结核破坏程度及手术可能带来的脊柱稳定性改变,采用不同的手术治疗方式。结果本组有1例术后慢性窦道形成,其他患者切口均Ⅰ期愈合。57例有脊柱后凸畸形者,后凸畸形平均矫正27.8°,随访中平均丢失2.4°。55例前路椎体间植骨病例,界面骨性融合时间平均4个月。47例有明显神经损害的患者手术后除1例外均获得明显改善。结论脊柱稳定性在脊柱结核外科治疗中有重要意义,根据脊柱稳定性改变选择合适的外科治疗术式,均可获得满意的临床疗效。     

Atypical forms of spinal tuberculosis

Summary Twenty-three patients with atypical forms of spinal tuberculosis treated between 1975 and 1985, are described.All presented with signs and symptoms of compression of the spinal cord or cauda equina, ranging from paraesthesiae and increasing weakness of extremities to paraplegia and loss of sphincter control. None of them showed visible or palpable spinal deformity nor the typical radiographic appearance of destruction of the intervertebral disc and the two adjoining vertebral bodies. These atypical forms constituted about 12 percent of all the cases of spinal tuberculosis seen (a total of 190 cases); and fell into three well-defined groups: those with the involvement of neural arch only; those with the inolvement of a single vertebral body; and, those without bony involvement. The correct surgical approach in these groups was found to be different: spinal cord compression caused by the tuberculous disease of the neural arch was best treated by laminectomy; whereas single vertebral body disease required an anterior or anterolateral approach. Spinal computerized tomography was helpful in defining the extent of disease and planning the surgical approach. Histological confirmation of tuberculosis was obtained in all the cases and acid fast bacilli (A.F.B.) were found in, and cultured from, the biopsy specimens of 18 cases.     

Modern imaging of spinal tuberculosis

Spinal tuberculosis (Pott disease) is uncommon in developed countries. On imaging studies diagnosis of this lesion may not be considered or it might be mistaken for pyogenic osteomyelitis. Features most strongly indicative of a diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis are relative sparing of the disc space, large paraspinous abscesses, a thick rim of enhancement around the paraspinous and intraosseous abscesses, calcifications within the paraspinous collections, and a fragmentary pattern of osseous destruction. As the disease progresses, there is worsening of the osseous destruction, leading to collapse of the vertebral body and eventual progression to kyphotic deformity. Based on recent experience, the authors review the major imaging characteristics associated with spinal tuberculosis and describe the typical course of the disease as documented on plain radiographs, computerized tomography scans, and magnetic resonance images.