Abstract:Objective To explore the surgical selection and treatment effect of cervical brucellar spondylitis.Methods The data of 42 patients with cervical brucellar spondylitis who underwent one stage anterior or anterior-posterior approach surgery with the premise of standardized anti-brucellar spondylitis drug treatment in the First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University were selected. Among them, 7 cases involved 3 adjacent vertebrae, 23 cases involved 2 adjacent vertebrae, and 12 cases involved single vertebrae. In addition, there were 5 patients with cervical spinal stenosis. All patients suffered from neurological impairment with different degrees. The general clinical conditions were observed before operation. The laboratory tests included C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), Brucellosis rose brucellosis plane test: tiger red plate agglutination test (RBPT), serum agglutination test (SAT); X-ray film and MRI were used as observation indexes for clinical efficacy evaluation and imaging; neurological function was assessed using the American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA) classification, and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score were used as evaluation for neck pain. The patients were treated with sulfamethoxazole, doxycycline, and rifampicin for more than 14 days before operation, and the patients were operated when ESR showed a downward trend or remained at a certain value, surgery should be carried out. According to the compression of the spinal nerve and the involvement of the focus in the vertebral body, anterior or anterior-posterior approach surgery was selected for the operation. Standardized anti-brucellar spondylitis drug treatment was continued after operation.Results There was no aggravation for the disease of patients, and the excellent and good rate of the last follow-up reached 100%. No recurrence was found in the X-ray and MRI of cervical vertebrae at 12 months after operation. The VAS score at the last postoperative follow-up was lower than the VAS score before the operation (P < 0.05). The JOA score at the last postoperative follow-up were increased compared with the JOA score before the operation (P <0.05). At the last follow-up after operation, there were 7 cases with grade D and 35 cases with grade E according to the classification of American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA). Compared with that before operation, the neurological function recovered obviously (P < 0.05).Conclusion With the premise of standardized drug treatment before operation, one-stage focus debridement combined with bone graft fusion and internal fixation can greatly reduce the pain and disability rate of patients, effectively control the progress of the disease, restore the stability of the cervical vertebra, rescue the nerve function, and the clinical effect is worthy of affirmation. The continuous standardized drug treatment after operation is key to prevent the recurrence of brucellar spondylitis.