Surgical strategy of lumbopelvic instrumentation in the treatment of lumbosacral tuberculosis: S2‐alar‐iliac screws vs iliac screws

The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and clinical outcomes of S2‐alar‐iliac (S2AI) and iliac screw (IS) techniques in the lumbopelvic reconstruction of lumbosacral tuberculosis patients. From January 2014 to August 2016, 26 patients with lumbosacral tuberculosis attending the 8th Medical Centre of Chinese PLA General Hospital were included in this retrospective study. The subjects were divided into two groups based on the lumbopelvic fixation type (16 patients in the S2AI group, 10 patients in the IS group). The operation time, blood loss, length of hospitalisation, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C‐reactive protein (CRP) level, visual analogue scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), ambulatory status, and 36‐Item Short‐Form Health Survey (SF‐36) scores of the patients in two groups were recorded and compared. In addition, surgical complications were collected and analysed. The operation time and intraoperative blood loss were significantly lower in the S2AI group than that in the IS group (P < .05). Compared with preoperative data, postoperative data showed significant improvement in ESR, CRP level, ODI scores, VAS scores, ambulatory status, and SF‐36 (P < .05), but there was no significant difference in remission degree between the two groups. Compared with IS group, The S2AI group had significantly lower rates of symptomatic screw prominence (P < .05). Both the IS and S2AI fixation techniques can achieve satisfactory outcomes for the restoration of lumbosacral stability of lumbosacral tuberculosis. Furthermore, compared to the traditional IS fixation technique, the S2AI fixation technique can shorten operation time and reduce surgical trauma for the treatment of lumbosacral tuberculosis.