Tuberculosis of the lumbar spine: outcomes after combined treatment of two-drug therapy and surgery.

This article evaluates complications and treatment results in patients with tuberculosis of the lumbar spine. Eighteen patients with active tuberculosis of the lumbar spine were treated surgically in the orthopedic surgery department at Uludag University School of Medicine between 1993 and 2000. All patients received antituberculosis combination drug therapy (isoniazid and rifampicin) for 9 months. Patients who underwent anterior radical debridement and anterior fusion and/or posterolateral debridement and posterior fusion plus stabilization showed 5-8 degrees correction of local angulation after surgery. The mean loss of correction at final follow-up (mean: 5 years) in anterior or posterior surgery alone was 45%-50%, whereas the corresponding finding for the combined approach was 12%. The combination of two-drug chemotherapy (daily isoniazid and rifampicin for 9 months) and surgery is effective for tuberculosis of the lumbar spine.