Analysis of the therapeutic effect of lumbar intervertebral fusion using physiological temperature water medium through joint insertion under spinal endoscopy

Objective: To investigate the effect of physiological temperature water medium on the therapeutic effect of spinal endoscopic transarticular insertion lumbar fusion (Endo-TLIF). Methods: A total of 120 Endo-TLIF cases performed at our hospital between January and December 2024 were retrospectively included in the study. The cases were divided into control and observation groups based on whether thermostatic infusion sets were used during surgery. Both groups of patients underwent surgery performed by experienced senior physicians. In the observation group, the surgical field was rinsed with 37°C constant-temperature normal saline, while in the control group it was rinsed with normal saline at room temperature. The postoperative follow-up period was at least six months. Monitoring indicators included: intravenous rehydration volume; lavage fluid consumption; intraoperative body temperature; perioperative inflammatory indicators; postoperative analgesic pump usage time; frequency of analgesic drug use; anesthesia recovery time; and postoperative VAS score. Results: Thirty minutes after the start of the operation, the core body temperature of the control group decreased significantly, with hypothermia observed in 52 cases (86.7%; P < 0.05). In the observation group, the following were all significantly lower than in the control group: inflammatory markers and their dynamic changes, operative time, volume of irrigation fluid used, anesthesia recovery time, duration of postoperative analgesic pump use and frequency of analgesic administration (P < 0.05). No significant difference was found in preoperative VAS scores between the two groups (P > 0.05). However, VAS scores in the observation group were significantly lower than in the control group at 1 day, 1 week and 1 month post-surgery (P < 0.05). In contrast, no statistically significant differences in VAS scores were observed between the groups at the three- and six-month postoperative assessments (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Using a physiological temperature water medium can effectively reduce the inflammatory response and postoperative pain experienced by patients, as well as reducing intraoperative complications, by improving the local microenvironment during lumbar fusion via an arthroscopic approach under spinal endoscopy.