OBJECTIVE: To explore the effectiveness of a systematic set of diagnostic tests in a protocol sheet for determination of vertebral destruction syndrome in patients treated in our service. METHODS: We analysed a proposal for systematization through a pilot study of 20 patients who underwent 10 different laboratory and imaging tests, as well as the histopathological study through percutaneous biopsy. We described the demographic and clinical characteristics and likewise the results obtained by means of descriptive statistics, mean and standard deviation for quantitative variables and percentage for qualitative variables. RESULTS: Average age of 53.3 ± 16.56 years; 10 men and 10 women. Thirty vertebrae affected in 20 patients; 8 patients had disease in two or more vertebrae. The most affected level was the lumbar in 18 cases, followed by thoracic in 12. The spinal tuberculosis (Pott's disease) was detected in 7 cases (35%), osteomyelitis in 4 (20%), multiple myeloma, in 2 (10%), and discitis, metastasis of adenocarcinoma, lymphoma and osteoporosis in one case (5%). In 3 cases (15%) there was no specific diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: This proposal of systematization was useful to reach the final etiological diagnosis of the VDS in 85% of cases, with the reduction in the number of tests. It is necessary to study a larger number of patients to increase the evidence of its usefulness.
Spine; Infection; Spinal neoplasms; Tuberculosis, Spinal; Osteoporosis
