Study on Spinal Tuberculosis Treatment

Both bone grafting and titanium mesh grafting are equally effective for the treatment of spinal tuberculosis, suggests a new study published in the BMC Surgery.

A study was done to systematically assess the safety and effectiveness of titanium mesh grafting compared with bone grafting in the treatment of spinal tuberculosis.

Electronic databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, were searched from their inception until April 2023. The outcome indicators for patients treated with titanium mesh grafting or bone grafting for spinal tuberculosis include:

• Surgical duration
• Intraoperative blood loss
• Graft fusion time
• American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Spinal Cord Injury Grade E assessment
• VAS score
• Lumbar pain score
• Post-graft kyphotic angle
• Postoperative complications

The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach were used for quality assessment and evidence grading of clinical studies. Funnel plots and Begg’s test were employed for bias assessment.

Results

A total of 8 studies were finally included, comprising 523 patients, with 267 cases of titanium mesh fixation and 256 cases of bone grafting. The meta-analysis showed no significant statistical differences in:

• Surgical duration (Weighted Mean Difference (WMD) = -7.20, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): -28.06 to 13.67, P = 0.499)
• Intraoperative blood loss (WMD = 16.22, 95% CI: -40.62 to 73.06, P = 0.576)
• Graft fusion time (WMD = 0.97, 95% CI: -0.88 to 2.81, P = 0.304)
• ASIA Spinal Cord Injury Grade E assessment (Relative Risk (RR) = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.97 to 1.09, P = 0.346)
• Overall complications (RR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.49 to 1.55, P = 0.643)

Differences in VAS score, ODI lumbar pain score, and post-graft kyphotic angle between the titanium mesh grafting group and the bone grafting group were not significant within the 95% CI range. The rate of postoperative implant subsidence was slightly lower in bone grafting than in titanium mesh grafting (RR = 9.30, 95% CI: 1.05 to 82.22, P = 0.045).

Both bone grafting and titanium mesh grafting are effective and safe for the surgery, with no significant statistical differences in the results. Considering the limitations of the present study, large-scale randomized controlled trials are warranted to further verify the reliability of this finding.

Reference

Deng, F., Chen, B., Guo, H. et al. Effectiveness and safety analysis of titanium mesh grafting versus bone grafting in the treatment of spinal Tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Surg 23, 377 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12893-023-02283-1