Efficacy of anchor fixation versus mini-titanium plate fixation for spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality and their impact on cervical curvature
Liu Xin
Liu Qian
Li Min
Yu Ke
Tian Tingting
Kong Meng
Peng Guodong
Abstract：Objective To compare the efficacy of anchor fixation and mini-titanium plate fixation for spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality(SCIWORA)and their impacts on cervical curvature and stability,providing evidence for surgical fix-ation selection.Methods Clinical data of 74 SCIWORA patients(April 2020-April 2024)were retrospectively analyzed.Pa-tients were allocated to the anchor fixation group(n=35)and the titanium plate fixation group(n=39)based on fixation method.Treatment efficacy,cervical function(Japanese Orthopaedic Association[JOA]score,Neck Disability Index[NDI]),neurological function(American Spinal Injury Association[ASIA]grade),cervical curvature(C2-7),stability(Cobb angle,adjacent vertebral height),and postoperative axial symptom severity were compared.Results The titanium plate fixation group showed significantly higher overall response rate than the anchor fixation group(94.87％[37/39]vs.77.14％[27/35];x2=4.961,P=0.026).Preoperative JOA and NDI scores showed no significant intergroup differences(P＞0.05);at 3 months postoperatively,the titanium plate fixation group had significantly higher JOA scores and lower NDI scores than the anchor fixation group(P＜0.05).Preoperative ASIA grades showed no significant difference(Z=0.451,P=0.652);postoperative ASIA grades were higher in the ti-tanium plate fixation group than in the anchor fixation group(Z=2.440,P=0.015).Preoperative C2-7 cervical curvature,Cobb an-gle,and adjacent vertebral height showed no significantly intergroup differences(P＞0.05);these values at 3 months postoperative-ly were significantly greater in the titanium plate fixation group than in the anchor fixation group(P＜0.05).Postoperative ax-ial symptoms were milder in the titanium plate fixation group than in the anchor fixation group,with significant differences(Z=2.377,P=0.017).Conclusion Mini-titanium plate fixation demonstrates superior efficacy for SCIWORA,which can effectively improve cervical function,repair cervical nerve injury,maintain cervical curvature and stability,and relieve postop-erative axial symptoms.
Keywords：Spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormalityAnchor fixationMini-titanium plate fixationCervical curva-tureStability
Publication Date：2025-07-20
Online Publishing Date：2025-11-19(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 70-76 )