RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Unstable Thoracolumbar Injuries: Factors Affecting the Decision for Short-Segment vs Long-Segment Posterior Fixation
JF International Journal of Spine Surgery
JO Int J Spine Surg
FD International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery
SP 772
OP 778
DO 10.14444/8337
VO 16
IS 5
A1 Cabrera, Juan P.
A1 Guiroy, Alfredo
A1 Carazzo, Charles A.
A1 Yurac, Ratko
A1 Valacco, Marcelo
A1 Vialle, Emiliano
A1 Joaquim, Andrei F.
A1 On behalf of the AO Spine Latin America Trauma Study Group
YR 2022
UL https://www.ijssurgery.com/content/16/5/772.abstract
AB Background Factors influencing the length of spinal instrumentation have been mostly evaluated in burst fractures, receiving more attention than other unstable thoracolumbar injuries. We aimed to evaluate clinical factors affecting surgical decision-making and associated complications.Methods This was a multicentric retrospective cohort study. Outcomes of patients with AO Spine injury classification types B2, B3, and C operated through an open posterior-only approach were analyzed. Length of instrumentation was correlated with age, type of injury, comorbidities, level of injury, neurological status, and complications.Results Among 439 patients, 30.3% underwent short-segment fixation (SSF) and 69.7% underwent long-segment fixation (LSF). Type C injuries were treated with LSF in 89.4% of cases (P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, age ≤39 years (OR: 2.06), AO spine type B2 (OR: 3.58), and type B3 (OR: 7.48) were statistically significant predictors for SSF, while hypertension (OR: 4.07), upper thoracic injury (OR: 9.48), midthoracic injury (OR: 6.06), and American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale A (OR: 3.14) were significantly associated with LSF. Patients with SSF had fewer overall complications (27.1% vs 50.9%, P < 0.001) and were less likely to develop pneumonia (6.0% vs 18.3%, P < 0.001) and urinary tract infections (6.8% vs 16.3%, P < 0.007).Conclusions Unstable thoracolumbar injuries were mostly treated by LSF. Length of instrumentation was affected by the type of spinal injury, location of the injury, and neurological status. SSF was associated with lower rates of early complications than LSF.Clinical Relevance The decision on the length of fixation in the surgical treatment of unstable thoracolumbar injuries is affected by different factors, and it will impact the rate of postoperative complications.Level of Evidence 3.