Abstract
Purpose of Study Standard treatment protocols for lumbar degenerative lesions in the setting of rheumatoid
arthritis (RA) are lacking. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical
and radiologic outcomes of minimally invasive oblique lumbar interbody fusion (MI-OLIF)
in RA patients having degenerative lumbar spine lesions.
Methods This was a retrospective hospital-based case series (evidence level 4). Eight patients
with degenerative lumbar disease with significant back pain and neurologic claudication
underwent MI-OLIFwith polyetheretherketone cage insertion and posterior pedicle screw
instrumentation. The clinical outcomes were measured by the numerical rating scale
(NRS) for back and leg pain and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and radiologic
outcomes were studied on radiographs, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance
imaging. Minimum follow-up duration was 1 year.
Results Mean NRS results for back and leg pain preoperatively were 6.3 and 7.1 that improved
to 2.6 and 2 for back and leg pain, respectively, at last follow-up. The mean ODI
scores preoperatively were 58.02 that improved to 39.06 at last follow-up. All patients
had good functional outcomes, good fusion rates, and were able to continue their activities
of daily living without much disability at last follow-up.
Conclusion MI-OLIF in patients with symptomatic lumbar spine degenerative lesions with RA seems
to provide good short-term clinical and radiologic outcomes.
Keywords
oblique lumbar interbody fusion - rheumatoid arthritis - degenerative lumbar spine
disease - MI-OLIF
