The Effect of Time-to-Surgery on Outcome in Patients with Neurological Deficits Caused by Spinal Tuberculosis.

AIM To compare and analyze the influence of the duration of neurological symptoms and degree of neurological deficits on the postoperative neurological recovery of patients with neurological deficits caused by spinal tuberculosis (TB). MATERIAL AND METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the data of 47 adult patients with neurological deficits caused by spinal TB. They were divided into three and four groups according to the duration of neurological symptoms and degree of neurological deficits, respectively. Differences in the mean rank within groups were statistically evaluated, and logistic regression of the two factors was performed to evaluate how these factors influence the recovery of neurological function. RESULTS Non-parametric tests indicated a significant difference among improvement grades in the three groups based on the duration of neurological symptoms (p < 0.05). No significant difference was found among improvement grades of the patients preoperatively in the four groups based on the grade of neurological deficits (p > 0.05). Logistic regression showed that the preoperative grade of neurological deficits significantly influenced the improvement grade of neurological deficits (p < 0.05), but the correlation was not close (R2=0.28). CONCLUSION The duration of neurological symptoms, but not the grade of neurological involvement, is correlated with postoperative neurological recovery of patients with neurological deficits caused by spinal TB. However, reducing preoperative chemotherapy does not significantly yield improved outcomes; therefore, undergoing four weeks of preoperative chemotherapy is acceptable.