ABSTRACT

To analyze the existing medical literature on thoracic and lumbar spine fractures.

In this study, 41 patients with thoracic and lumbar fractures who were operated between 2007 and 2017 were retrospectively inspected. Posterior pedicle screw fixation, decompression, vertebroplasty, and fusion were performed in the patients. The patients were evaluated according to their age, gender, type and level of trauma, neurological state, surgery duration, stay duration in the hospital, and kyphosis angles. SPSS 21 was used for statistical analysis. Student’s t-test was used to compare different variables. P values less than 0.05 was considered as significant.

A total of 41 patients were enrolled in this study. The mean age was 50.60 ± 19.45 years (range: 15–87 years). Among the patients, 23/41 (56.11 %) were males and 18/41 (43.90 %) were females. The most common cause of thoracolumbar fracture was osteoporosis (14/41 patients, 34.15 %). The most frequently affected vertebra was vertebra L1 (14/41 patients, 34.15 %). Compression was the most common type of vertebra fracture (32/41 patients, 78.05 %). The mean duration of the operation was 189.37 ± 54.89 min (duration range: 125–330 min). The mean time of stay in the hospital was 6.39 ± 5.20 days (range: 3–35 days). Among the patients, 10/41 (24.39 %) had neurologic deficit. Screws were implanted in the fractured segment of 5 patients. Vertebroplasty was performed in 3 patients. The kyphosis angles of the patients at the preoperative stage were 20.1, at early postoperative stage 12.4, and at first postoperative year 13.1.

The major cause of thoracolumbar fracture was osteoporosis mostly affecting the elderly population. The most common type of thoracolumbar fracture was compression and the L1 was the mostly affected region. Our review cumulatively suggests that stabilization with posterior pedicle screw fixation is a surgical technique with good outcomes and minimal complications when performed under favorable conditions.