Actual tactical classifications of the infectious inflammatory lesions of the cervical spine and their use on the example of a series of 24 cases

Objective. To analyze the known classifications of infectious and inflammatory lesions of the cervical spine using the example of the author’s clinical material.Material and Methods. Data on the results of treatment of 24 patients with lesions of the cervical spine were analyzed. Classifications proposed by groups of authors led by L. Homagk (2016) E. Pola (2017), M. Akbar (2012) and H. Almansour (2020) were used for comparison.Results. Out of 24 patients with osteomyelitis of the cervical spine, monosegmental lesions were observed in 15, polysegmental – in 5, multilevel – in 2, and multilevel polysegmental lesions – in 2 cases. The C5–C6 segment was affected in 70.8 % of cases. Sepsis was diagnosed in 2 (8.3 %) patients. One case was not classified, as there was a lesion of the C1–C2 segment. The total number of neurological deficit  was 16 (66.7 %). Twenty (83.3 %) patients were admitted with the acute form of the disease, and 4 (16.7 %) patients with the chronic form. Surgery was performed in 20 (83.3 %) patients. Hospital mortality was 8.3 % (n = 2), 91.7 % (n = 22) of patients recovered. The analysis of the classifications presented above was carried out, and proposals for their use were outlined.Conclusion. «New Classification of Pyogenic Spondylodiscitis» by Pola et al., a modified classification with specification of instability criteria and adaptation of surgical methods of treatment for the cervical spine allows applying it as the main treatment and diagnostic algorithm.