Do different endplate region injuries affect the prognosis of post- operative patients with thoracolumbar fractures?

Study design: This was a retrospective cohort study. Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between the region of endplate injury and long-term transition outcomes in patients with thoracolumbar spine fractures. Methods: : A total of 452 patients with thoracolumbar spine fractures who underwent internal fixation between October 2014 and October 2020 and were examined by preoperative and postoperative CT 3D and MRI were included in this retrospective study. The effect of the region of endplate injury on the transition outcome of patients in terms of long-term spine height, Cobb angle and vertebral morphology was investigated. Result: In the short term the rate of surgical improvement was greater in TE, with no significant difference between IRE and ORE(p＞0.05). However, both IRE and TE showed significant loss of intervertebral space height and Cobb angle, while the prognostic outcome of ORE was significantly better than that of IRE and TE in the long-term transition (p＜0.05). Conclusion: Injuries to the inner 1/3 of the endplate are more likely to lead to a poor prognosis in patients with thoracolumbar fractures compared to the outer 2/3. However, more relevant studies are needed to confirm this in the future.