Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Orthop. Apr 18, 2025; 16(4): 103388
Published online Apr 18, 2025. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i4.103388
Senility, defecation disorders, sleep disorders, and non-operative spinal infections: A single-center retrospective analysis
Ling-Ling Guo, Hong-Kun Liu, Jin-Feng Cao, Hai-Xia Zhang, Bo Li, Tong Li, Liang Li
Ling-Ling Guo, Hong-Kun Liu, Bo Li, Department of Orthopaedics of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Zibo Central Hospital, Zibo 255000, Shandong Province, China
Jin-Feng Cao, Department of Radiology, Zibo Central Hospital, Zibo 255036, Shandong Province, China
Hai-Xia Zhang, Telemedicine Consultation Center, Zibo Central Hospital, Zibo 255000, Shandong Province, China
Tong Li, Liang Li, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zibo Central Hospital, Zibo 255000, Shandong Province, China
Author contributions: Guo LL was responsible for conceptualization, and writing original draft; Liu HK was responsible for data curation, methodology, writing, review and editing; Cao JF was responsible for data curation, writing, review and editing; Zhang HX was responsible for methodology, writing, review and editing; Li B was responsible for methodology, writing, review and editing; Li T was responsible for writing, review and editing; Li L was responsible for writing original draft; all authors have read and approved the final version to be published.
Institutional review board statement: This retrospective analysis was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of Zibo Central Hospital (Approval No.2024-258).
Informed consent statement: Patients’ consents are waived since the study is retrospective in nature.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest is declared by the authors.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Liang Li, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zibo Central Hospital, No. 54 Gong Qing Tuan West Road, Zhangdian District, Zibo 255000, Shandong Province, China. miner.999@163.com
Received: November 29, 2024
Revised: February 21, 2025
Accepted: March 21, 2025
Published online: April 18, 2025
Processing time: 139 Days and 18.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Non-operative spinal infections (NOSI) are caused by tuberculosis, brucella, and other specific bacteria. The etiology of the disease is insidious, the onset is slow and the diagnosis and treatment are difficult. Identifying the factors associated with spinal infection and early intervention can reduce the occurrence of the disease. At present, the research mainly focuses on the accurate diagnosis and treatment of spinal infection, and there are few studies on the prevention of spinal infection. The concept of "preventive treatment of diseases" in traditional Chinese medicine may help identify the causes and reduce the occurrence of NOSI.

AIM

To determine the association of age, bowel movements, and sleep patterns with NOSI.

METHODS

Data of 69 NOSI patients and 84 healthy controls in a tertiary hospital from January 2019 to June 2024 were collected. Patients with NOSI had imaging evidence (magnetic resonance imaging) of spinal infections (including infections caused by tuberculosis, brucopathy, and other pathogens) and had no history of spinal surgery in the last 1 year were included in the analysis. Patients with spinal infection due to spinal surgery are excluded in the study. Data including age, sex, place of residence, sleeping status, and bowel movements were collected. SPSS22.0 was used for correlation analysis of all data.

RESULTS

The mean age of the NOSI group and the control group was 63.55 ± 14.635 years and 59.18 ± 17.111 years, respectively, without statistical difference (P = 0.096). There was also no statistically significant difference in gender between the two groups. In the NOSI group, 45 (65.22%) were over 60 years old, and 44 (63.77%) were rural residents. Compared with the control group, the NOSI group had more patients with sleep disorder and defecation disorder, accounting for 69.57% and 68.12%, respectively, with significant statistical difference (both P < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that defecation and sleep disorders were closely related to NOSI (both P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Most patients with NOSI are older and have sleep disorders and abnormal defecation.

Keywords: Non-operative spinal infections; Senility; Defecation disorder; Sleep disorder

Core Tip: Non-operative spinal infection is a common clinical disease that seriously affects the stability of the spine. The etiology of the disease is insidious, the onset is slow and the diagnosis and treatment are difficult. Identifying the factors associated with spinal infection and early intervention can reduce the occurrence of the disease. We found that old age, sleep disturbances, and bowel disturbances were associated with non-surgical spinal infections. Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes prevention more than treatment, and suggests that proper diet, moderate exercise and healthy life style can delay aging, improve sleep and intestinal abnormalities, thereby preventing spinal infections.