1366. Prognostic Factors for Unfavorable Outcomes of Patients with Spinal Tuberculosis in a Country with an Intermediate Tuberculosis Burden: a Multi-Center Cohort Study

Abstract

BackgroundSpinal tuberculosis (TB) remains an important concern. Although spinal TB often has sequelae such as myelopathy after treatment, the predictive factors affecting such unfavorable outcomes are not yet known. Therefore, we investigated the clinical manifestations and predictors of unfavorable treatment outcomes in patients with spinal TB.MethodsWe performed a multi-center retrospective cohort study of patients with spinal TB. The clinical features, comorbidities, laboratory data, imaging findings and treatment outcomes of the patients were analyzed. The unfavorable outcome was defined according to previous studies. The prognostic factors for unfavorable outcomes as the primary outcome were determined using multivariate logistic regression analysis and a linear mixed model were used to compare time course of inflammatory markers during treatment.ResultsA total of 185 patients (85 males and 100 females) were included. The mean age of the patients was 57.2 years. Of them, 115 underwent surgery during treatment, with a median treatment duration of 12 months. Fifty-nine patients had unfavorable outcomes. In multivariate regression analysis, the factors associated with unfavorable outcome were old age (odds ratio [OR], 2.51; P = 0.034), acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear positivity in specimens obtained through biopsy (OR, 3.05; P = 0.039), and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) at the end of treatment (OR, 3.85; P = 0.002). Patients with unfavorable outcomes had a significant trend toward higher ESR during treatment compared with patients with favorable outcome (P = 0.009). Duration of anti-TB and surgical treatment did not affect prognosis.ConclusionElevated ESR at the end of treatment could be used as a marker to identify spinal TB patients with a poor prognosis. Patients whose ESR are not normalized during treatment, as well as those with old age and AFB smear positivity, should be aware of unfavorable outcomes. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.