To investigate the improvement of nerve function in patients with thoracolumbar fracture and spinal cord injury after emergency operation.

Eighty-five patients with thoracolumbar fracture and spinal cord injury were chosen from the emergency department of Qingdao Municipal Hospital from July 2015 to December 2017. The patients were divided into emergency group and selective group according to random number table method. All patients were treated with pedicle screw fixation, the emergency group was operated within 6 h after injury, and the selective group was operated within 4~7 d after injury. The surgical indicators, fracture recovery, spinal nerve functional grading, improvement of electrophysiological indicators and occurrence of complications were compared between the two group.

The drainage volume and intraoperative bleeding volume in the emergency group were more than those in the selective group (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in operation time between the two groups (P>0.05). Cobb angle, spinal canal occupancy and anterior height loss were significantly reduced in both groups after operation and at the last follow-up (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in Cobb angle, spinal canal space occupancy and anterior height loss between two group before and after operation (P>0.05). At the last follow-up, the neurological function grades of the two groups were significantly improved, but there was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). At the last follow-up, the neurosensory and motor scores of the emergency group were higher than those of the selective group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of complications between the two groups during follow-up (P>0.05).

Emergency surgery can promote the recovery of sensory and motor function of spinal cord in patients with thoracolumbar fracture and spinal cord nerve injury.