RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A Comparison of Three Different Methods of Fixation in the Management of Thoracolumbar Fractures
JF International Journal of Spine Surgery
JO Int J Spine Surg
FD International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery
SP 32
DO 10.14444/4032
VO 11
IS 5
A1 Pavlos Panteliadis
A1 Omar Musbahi
A1 Senthil Muthian
A1 Shivam Goyal
A1 Alexander Sheriff Montgomery
A1 Arun Ranganathan
YR 2017
UL http://ijssurgery.com//content/11/5/32.abstract
AB Introduction Management of thoracolumbar fractures remains controversial in the literature. The primary aims of this study were to assess different levels of fixation with respect to radiological outcomes in terms of fracture reduction and future loss of correction.Methods This is a single center, retrospective study. Fifty-five patients presenting with thoracolumbar fractures between January 2012 and December 2015 were analyzed in the study. The levels of fixation were divided in 3 groups, 1 vertebra above and 1 below the fracture (1/1), 2 above and 2 below (2/2), and 2 above and 1 below (2/1).Results The most common mechanism was high fall injury and the most common vertebra L1. Burst fractures were the ones with the highest incidence. The 2/2 fixation achieved the best reduction of the fracture but with no statistical significance. The correction is maintained better by the 2/2 fixation but there is no statistical difference compared to the other fixations. Insertion of screws at the fracture level did not improve outcomes.Conclusion The data of this study identified a trend towards better radiological outcomes for fracture reduction and maintenance of the correction in the 2/2 fixations. However these results are not statistically significant. Future multicenter prospective clinical trials are needed in order to agree on the ideal management and method of fixation for thoracolumbar fractures.