Combination Use of Antibiotic-Loaded Calcium Sulfate Beads in Spinal Surgery for Patients with Spondylodiscitis:A Clinical Retrospective Study
Abstract Background. Various surgical techniques for treating spondylodiscitis have been proposed, but the optimal surgical treatment remains controversial. In this study, we propose a new procedure that is implanting antibiotic-loaded calcium sulfate (CS) beads into the disc after infection site debrided by Quadrant channel combined with percutaneous fixation through a single-stage posterior approach for the treatment of spondylodiscitis. Thus, the purpose of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of this procedure. Methods. This study collected 32 patients’ clinical data of whom had spine spondylodiscitis treated in our department from July of 2015 to August of 2020. The Demographic data included age, gender, involved segment and complications were collected. The intra-operative details, results of culture, functional outcome, radiologic outcome, and length of hospital stay, laboratory examination were recorded. Results. The mean age of the 32 patients was 61.1 ± 9.7 years old. The mean operative time was 135.0 ± 30.6 minutes, and the mean blood loss was 243.4 ± 92.1 ml. The positive rate of culture was 72%. The mean Visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score significantly improved from 7.5 to 1.6 and from 65–10%. Cobb angle was significantly improved and could be maintained at final follow-up. Solid bone fusion was achieved in all patients. There were no recurrences of infection in our study. Conclusions. The procedure we proposed is effective in the treatment of spondylodiscitis, the infection site can be debrided and controlled exactly, and spinal stabilization can also be achieved.