Single-stage anterior debridement and reconstruction with tantalum mesh cage for complicated infectious spondylitis

Table 1 Patient demographic data

Case no	Age (yr)	Gender	Infection level	Instrumented level	Length of mesh cage	Pathogen	Cobb angle correction
1	62	M	L2 and adjacent discs	T12L1 to L3L4	38 mm	OSSA	15°
2	50	M	L1 and adjacent discs	T11T12 to L2L3	35 mm	ORSA	18°
3	39	M	T11-L1 and adjacent discs	T8T9T10 to L2L3L4	56 mm	MT	25°
4	55	M	L2 and adjacent discs	T12L1 to L3L4	41 mm	SV	19°
5	48	F	L3 and adjacent discs	L1L2 to L4L5	35 mm	PA	6°
6	51	M	C5C6 and adjacent discs	C4 to C7	44 mm	ORSA	29°
7	70	F	L3 and adjacent discs	L1L2 to L4L5	33.5 mm	OSSA	12°
8	72	F	T8T9 and adjacent discs	T6T7 to T10T11	38 mm	MT	20°
9	69	F	C4 and adjacent discs	C3 to C5	24.5 mm	OSSA	22°
10	42	M	L1 and adjacent discs	T11T12 to L2L3	38 mm	OSSA	15°
11	52	M	L1 and adjacent discs	T11T12 to L2L3	38 mm	EF	9°
12	60	F	T12 and adjacent discs	T10T11 to L1L2	32 mm	No growth	8°
13	65	M	L1 and adjacent discs	T11T12 to L2L3	33.5 mm	ORSA	8°
14	59	M	L4 and adjacent discs	L2L3 to L5S1	41 mm	PA	10°
15	73	F	L2L3 and adjacent discs	T12L1 to L4L5	62 mm	EC	23°
16	58	M	T11 and adjacent discs	T9T10 to T12L1	29 mm	MT	15°
17	55	F	L1 and adjacent discs	T10T11 to L2L3	29 mm	OSSA	14°
18	64	M	C4 and adjacent discs	C3 to C5	23 mm	EC	12°
19	68	M	L1 and adjacent discs	T11T12 to L2L3	32 mm	ORSA	7°
20	56	M	L2 and adjacent discs	T12L1 to L3L4	35 mm	OSSA	11°

F: Female; M: Male; T: Thoracic spine; L: Lumbar spine; S: Sacrum; OSSA: Oxacillin-sensitive staphylococcus aureus; ORSA: Oxacillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus; MT: Mycobacterium tuberculosis; SV: Streptococcus viridans; PA: Pseudomonas aeruginosa; EF: Enterococcus faecalis; EC: Escherichia coli.

Table 2 Comparison of clinical outcomes and radiographic findings before surgery and after surgery

	Preop	Postop	1 yr later	P (a/b)
VAS	7.4 ± 0.81	3.3 ± 0.81	2.2 ± 0.91	< 0.001/< 0.001
FS	D (C,E)2	D (D,E)2	E (E,E)2	= 0.003/= 0.001
MBC	F (P,F)2	G (G,G)2	G (G,E)2	< 0.001/< 0.001

¹mean ± SD;

²median (25^th percentile, 75^th percentile). Preop: Preoperative; Postop: Postoperative; a: Postop vs preop with Wilcoxon signed-rank test; b: Postop 1 year vs preop with Wilcoxon signed-rank test. VAS: Visual analog scale: 0 means no pain and 10 means the most pain possible. MBC: Modified Brodsky criteria: P = poor, F = fair, G = good, E = excellent; FS: Frankel scale: A = complete paralysis; B = sensory function only below the injury level; C = incomplete motor function below injury level; D = fair to good motor function below injury level; E = normal function.