ДЕГЕНЕРАТИВНЫЕ ПОРАЖЕНИЯ ПОЗВОНОЧНИКА У ДЕТЕЙ, ОСЛОЖНЕННЫЕ КОРЕШКОВЫМ СИНДРОМОМ: ЭПИДЕМИОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ И КЛИНИЧЕСКИЙ АНАЛИЗЫ 17-ЛЕТНЕЙ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЙ КОГОРТЫ

Objective. To analyze epidemiological and clinical features of degenerative disease of the spine complicated by radicular syndrome in children, as well as the effectiveness of its treatment on the example of one of the largest regions of the Russian Federation. Material and Methods. Design of the study corresponds to a retrospective cohort clinical and epidemiological study for 17 years. The study included 201 patients aged 10–17 years with degenerative changes in the spine complicated by radicular syndrome. An epidemiological analysis included the assessment of the regional incidence of degenerative diseases of the spine in children, and clinical analysis – the effectiveness of conservative and surgical treatment. The age and sex structure of the cohort, the level of pathology, the effectiveness of surgical treatment, and age-related features of early spinal discosis in children as compared with degenerative lesions of the spine in adults were analyzed. Results. The epidemiological frequency of degenerative diseases accompanied by clinical manifestations and requiring special treatment in the Leningrad Region was assessed as 8.7 per 100 thousand children aged 10–17 years. Conservative treatment was effective in 172 patients, and 29 patients were treated with surgery. Surgical results were followed up for 1 to 16 years after surgery and were evaluated as excellent, good, and satisfactory respectively in 4 (14 %), 20 (69 %), and 5 (17 %) cases. Complications were reported in two cases: migration of the interbody stabilizing implant and positional neuropathy of the peroneal nerve associated with the position on the operating table. Conclusion . The epidemiological analysis conducted on a regional cohort of the Leningrad Region can be used in assessing the potential need for conservative and surgical treatment of children with degenerative pathology in other regions of Russia. Conservative treatment of this pathology is quite effective, and surgical decompression of nerve roots was required only in 14.4 % of cases.