Preference for endoscopic techniques for vertebral spine diseases surgical correction: what do clinical trials say?

Abstract

Introduction: Spinal deformities, whether congenital or acquired, constitute a reasonably common clinical disorder, with a significant and measurable impact on health-related quality of life. Advanced surgical methods, imaging techniques and the use of minimally invasive surgery have emerged in recent years, resulting in increasingly safe and assertive procedures. Aim: To conduct a literature review to synthesize the main clinical evidence related to the results of spine surgeries using endoscopic techniques. Method: The database used as a source of information was PUBMED, using a filter that allowed only the selection of Clinical Trials. The keywords used, together with the Boolean operator AND, constituted the following search strategy: ("vertebral spine" [title] OR "vertebral column" [title] OR "spinal column" [title] OR backbone [title] OR spine [title] OR spinal [title]) AND surgery [title] AND (endoscopic [title] OR endoscopy [title]). Results: The review included 7 scientific articles that adequately met the search and selection criteria. Synthesis of Evidence: Endoscopic techniques for surgical correction of spinal diseases have proven to be superior to conventional techniques in several situations, including emptying of epidural abscesses, infectious thoracic and lumbar spondylodiscitis, among others, reducing pain and hospitalization time, and without increasing complications, and should therefore be the technique of choice whenever possible.