Objective:

The aim of this study was to assess the clinical efficacy of oblique lateral interbody fusion (OLIF) and posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) for lumbar brucellosis spondylitis.

Patients and methods:

Between April 2018 and December 2021, 80 cases of lumbar brucellosis spondylitis admitted to our institution were evaluated for eligibility and randomly assigned to either PLIF (group A, lesion removal by posterior approach + interbody fusion + percutaneous pedicle screw internal fixation) or OLIF (group B, lesion removal by anterior approach + interbody fusion + percutaneous pedicle screw internal fixation). The outcome measures included operative time, intraoperative bleeding, hospital stay, preoperative and postoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) ratings, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) classification, Cobb angle, and interbody fusion time.

Results:

PLIF resulted in shorter operative time and hospital stay and less intraoperative bleeding vs. OLIF (p<0.05). All eligible patients showed significantly lower VAS scores, and smaller ESR values and Cobb angles after treatment (p<0.05), but no significant intergroup differences were observed (p>0.05). The two groups showed similar preoperative ASIA (American Spinal Injury Association) classification and interbody fusion time (p>0.05). PLIF was associated with better ASIA classification at three months postoperatively vs. OLIF (p<0.05).

Conclusions:

Both surgical techniques are efficient at removing the lesion, relieving pain, maintaining spinal stability, promoting implant fusion, and facilitating prognostic inflammation control. PLIF features a shorter surgical duration and hospital stay, less intraoperative bleeding, and greater neurological improvement vs. OLIF. Nevertheless, OLIF outperforms PLIF in the excision of peri-vertebral abscesses. PLIF is indicated for posterior spinal column lesions, particularly those with spinal nerve compression in the spinal canal, whereas OLIF is indicated for structural bone deterioration in the anterior column, particularly for those with perivascular abscesses.