Anterior debridement, decompression, fusion and instrumentation for lower cervical spine tuberculosis

Background Antituberculosis chemotherapy have been widely used for lower cervical spine tuberculosis and brought out favorable outcomes. However, the contribution of surgical treatment is not well investigated yet. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and feasibility of surgical treatment for lower cervical spine tuberculosis by anterior debridement, decompression, fusion and instrumentation. Methods From April 2011 to July 2016, 17 patients (9 males and 8 females, average age, 45.7 ± 16.8 years) with lower cervical spine tuberculosis (C4-C7) underwent anterior debridement, decompression, fusion and instrumentation. Frankel grading and visual analogue scale were used to assess neurological function and neck pain, respectively. Operating time, blood loss, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, kyphosis angle and postoperative complications were used to evaluate the clinical outcomes of surgery. Results The surgery duration time range from 78 to 322 min (average 136.2 ± 61.1 min) and the blood loss range from 50 to 500 ml (average 127.7 ± 110.9 ml). Kyphosis angle was 10.8 ± 11.8°on average preoperative and returned to -6.3 ± 10.4° postoperative (P Conclusion Anterior debridement, decompression, fusion and instrumentation could serve as an effective treatment in the management of the lower cervical spine tuberculosis.