title: Advances made in the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures: current trends and future directions.
abstract: Thoracolumbar fractures are common injuries after blunt trauma and are accompanied with significant morbidity, including neurologic deficit. Parallel to the evolution of initial management during the past few years, efforts have been concentrated on determining clear indications for surgical treatment, as there is no agreement over superiority of conservative or operative treatment. Various classification systems have been used for identifying those injuries requiring surgical intervention. Moreover, novel trends in surgical techniques, including minimal invasive surgery, implants and rehabilitation protocols have provided new, promising aspects regarding the treatment and outcomes of thoracolumbar fractures. The present review focuses on these recent advances.
authors.affiliation: Academic Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Greece. irosp@bcm.tmc.edu
authors.forename: Spyros G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Pneumaticos
authors.forename: Georgios K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Triantafyllopoulos
authors.forename: Peter V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Giannoudis
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy*; D018849:Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D005732:Gangliosides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy*; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D005732:Gangliosides; D008775:Methylprednisolone