Risk factors for complications after complete debridement in patients with thoracolumbar spinal tuberculosis: A retrospective study.

Many studies have been published on the characteristics of spinal tuberculosis, but not yet on the risk factors for complications after complete debridement. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of postoperative complications in patients with thoracolumbar spinal tuberculosis (TB) after complete debridement. The clinical data of patients with thoracolumbar spinal TB after complete debridement admitted to General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University from January 2013 to December 2021 were included in this retrospective study. Patients were included if they had complete clinical data and a minimum follow-up duration of 1 year to ensure adequate assessment of postoperative complications. The study cohort was divided into 2 groups, including complication group and non-complication group according to the presence or absence of postoperative complications. The clinical characteristics of thoracolumbar spinal TB patients who developed postoperative complications were evaluated, and risk factors were analyzed by using univariate and binary multivariate logistic regression analysis. A total of 571 patients were included in this study: 92 patients with complications and 479 patients without complications. The results of the univariate analysis and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that preoperative albumin <35 g/L (odds ratio OR = 1.855; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.106-3.111, P = .019), the number of diseased segments ≥3 (OR = 2.072; CI, 1.183-3.629, P = .011), anemia (OR = 1.691; CI, 1.047-2.731, P = .032) and drug resistance (OR = 1.768; CI, 1.011-3.091, P = .046) were independent risk factors for postoperative complications in patients with thoracolumbar spinal TB after complete debridement. Our findings support that the level of preoperative serum albumin, number of diseased segments, anemia, and drug-resistant TB are independent risk factors for postoperative complications in patients with thoracolumbar spinal TB after complete debridement. Therefore, improving preoperative serum albumin level, correcting anemia, actively preventing and monitoring drug-resistance may effectively reduce the risk of postoperative complications in patients with thoracolumbar spinal TB after complete debridement.