Sagittal Parameters and Clinical Outcomes in Cervical Spondylitis: The Cohort Analysis.

Abstract

Background: Cervical spondylitis is accompanied by segmental instability and sagittal imbalance. The purpose of this work is to conduct a search of correlation between sagittal parameters and clinical outcomes in cervical spondylitis.

Materials and methods: The monocentric cohort study encompassed the clinical and radiological data of 59 patients who underwent reconstructive surgeries on the suboccipital, subaxial, and cervicothoracic spine. We evaluated local cervical sagittal parameters: cervical sagittal vertical axis (CSVA), T1 slope (T1S), Health-Related Quality of Life-HRQOL (Oswestry Disability Index-ODI)-and others pre- and postoperatively.

Results: The duration of the therapeutic pause and T1S correlated with HRQOL. It revealed the direct relationship between the age of the patient and the value of CSVA. A significant predictor of postoperative complications is the level of comorbidity with an index of 7 or more on the Charlson scale.

Conclusions: The factors influencing HRQOL in this pathology are the duration of the therapeutic pause and the magnitude of T1S compensation. Anterior reconstruction of the cervical spine in the presence of spondylitis yields a correction of the sagittal balance parameters. The leading predictors of complications from the surgical treatment of cervical spondylitis are the Charlson comorbidity index and the variant of anterior reconstruction.