[Surgical treatment of patients with spinal infection]

The surgical treatment of spinal infection, relegated because of the development of more effective antibiotherapy and the fear of associated morbidity, is springing up again with the increase of new patients with weakening pathology.

The clinical records of 27 patients submitted to surgery because of spinal infection between January 1990 and December 1999 at our service have been retrospectively studied. They were assessed with the Frankel and Karnofsky clinical scales, and the radiological angulation of the spine.

Male (n = 17) and dorsal lesions (n = 14) predominate. Most of patients presented with pain, and 13 had neurological compromise. 29 operations were performed on the 27 patients. One of them was previously operated upon before the period considered, that procedure has been excluded. The total surgeries performed were 5 simple and 4 instrumented laminectomies, 6 simple corpectomies, 10 corpectomies with anterior instrumentation and 4 with posterior instrumentation. One patient died, there was not definitive morbidity and any patient deteriorated on clinical scales although radiology was not always improved.

The aggressive treatment of spinal infection is indicated when conservative means are insufficient. Surgery permits a better recovery of the neurological deficit, and prevents spinal deformity and pain produced by the disease.