Prevalence and prognosis from the disability related to spinal tuberculosis: a systematic review

Objective: To review the disabilities caused by Spinal TB in relation to the prevalence and prognosis of the disabilities caused by the disease. Method: We conducted systematic search of the literatures based on PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) and PICO criteria. Our inclusion criteria were: 1) Patients with spinal TB; 2) full original articles; 3) articles written in English; 4) the period of publication of articles from 2012 to 2022. Evaluation of each article was done by checklist Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE). Results: From all articles in the publication year of 2012 to 2022, we reviewed five retrospective cohort studies, all studies coming from Asian countries. The five articles observed the prevalence of disabilities caused by spinal TB reflected through some important outcome variables pre-treatment, where they continued to compare with the post-treatment outcome variables. All of the studies reviewed had agreed that immediate or delayed treatment would give significant benefits to the patients of spinal TB, even better with combined treatments of conventional pre-operative anti-TB drugs and surgical intervention. It was found that poor prognosis associated with preoperative neurological status of the patients. Conclusion: Conventional anti-TB drugs and surgical intervention can be of great help and benefit for patients with spinal TB, reducing their disabilities severity and improving their prognosis.