Activities of Daily Living and Life Expectancy of Rheumatoid Arthritic Patients Operated on for Cervical Spine Disorders.

概要

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We evaluated 38 patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had surgical treatment for cervical spine disorders at Nagoya National Hospital. The average follow-up period was 93 months (range 3 to 199 months) and the average age at operation was 57.3 years (range 39 to 75 years) . Of 38 patients, 31 underwent posterior fusion, 4 underwent anterior body fusion, 2 were treated with laminectomy, and one with both posterior fusion and resection of odontoid. Neck pain and the neural deficits were evaluated pre- and postoperatively according to Ranawat's scale. In 30 patients, neck pain had improved ; in 8 cases there was no improvement. No case showed an increase in pain. As for neurological deficits, in 12 patients the condition had improved ; in 26 cases there was no improvement. Eighteen patients who died during the follow-up period were analyzed. Average age at death was 67.5 years. The most common causes of death in our series were heart failure, infectious diseases, and cerebrovascular disease. Distribution of causes of death was no different from that in rheumatoid arthritic patients who had no treatment for cervical involvement. We conclude that functions of activities of daily living were good postoperatively, and surgical treatment for cervical lesions had no effect on life expectancy in our patients.
日本関節病学会の論文