Treatment of Ankylosing Spondylitis Patients with Cervical Spinal Injury with Anterior Single-Stage Fixation with Bone Cement Augmentation

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Cervical spine fractures in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are characterized as highly unstable fractures posing an elevated risk of neurological deficit and a significantly elevated mortality rate. This study assesses the efficacy and safety of single-stage plate stabilization with ventral cement augmentation in treating subaxial cervical spine fractures in patients with AS. Methods: Over 86 months, 38 patients diagnosed with AS received ventral plate stabilization with cement augmentation after suffering unstable subaxial cervical fractures. No additional dorsal stabilization was used in any of these surgeries. Results: There were no complications as a result of cement leakage. During the follow-up period, screw loosening and implant displacement were documented in two out of 38 cases. At the time of data analysis, 17 patients who had undergone treatment had died, representing 44.7% of the total cases. Seven patients died within 1 month, two patients died within 6 months, four patients died within 1 year, and four patients died after 1 year. Conclusions: Our study shows that a single-stage anterior screw and plate fixation of the cervical spine with cement augmentation could be a feasible and effective method to treat cervical spine fractures in patients with AS.