Posterior cervical pedicle screw rod short-segment internal fixation for the treatment of atlantoaxial fracture and dislocation

Abstract

To investigate the clinical efficacy of posterior cervical pedicle screw short-segment internal fixation for the treatment of atlantoaxial fracture and dislocation. The clinical data of 60 patients with atlantoaxial vertebral fracture and dislocation underwent surgery between January 2015 and January 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into study group and control group according to different surgical methods. There were 30 patients in study group, including 13 males and 17 females, with an average age of (39.32±2.85) years old, were underwent short-segment internal fixation with posterior cervical pedicle screws. There were 30 patients in control group, including 12 males and 18 females, with an average age of (39.57±2.90) years old, were underwent posterior lamina clip internal fixation of the atlas. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative ambulation time, hospitalization time and complications between two groups were recorded and compared. The pain visual analogue scale(VAS), Japanese Orthopedic Association(JOA) score of neurological function, and fusion status were evaluated between two groups. All patients were followed up for at least 12 months. The study group was better than control group in operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative off-bed activity time, and hospital stay (P=0.000). One case of respiratory tract injury occurred in study group. In control group, 2 cases occurred incision infection, 3 cases occurred respiratory tract injury, and 3 cases occurred adjacent segmental joint degeneration. The incidence of complications in study group was lower than that in control group (χ2=4.705, P=0.030). At 1, 3, 7 days after operation, VAS of study group was lower than that of control group(P=0.000). At 1, 3 months after operation, JOA score of study group was higher than that of control group(P=0.000). At 12 months after operation, all the patients in the study group achieved bony fusion. In control group, there were 3 cases of poor bony fusion and 3 cases of internal fixation fracture, the incidence rate was 20.00%(6/30). The difference between two groups was statistically significant (χ2=4.629, P=0.031). Posterior cervical short-segment pedicle screw fixation for atlantoaxial fracture and dislocation has the advantages of less trauma, shorter operation time, fewer complications, and less pain, and can promote the recovery of nerve function as soon as possible.