Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
-
A high prevalence of cervical deformity (CD) has been identified among adult patients with thoracolumbar spinal deformity undergoing surgical treatment. The clinical impact of this is uncertain. This study aimed to quantify the differences in patient-reported outcomes among patients with adult spinal deformity (ASD) based on presence of CD prior to treatment. ⋯ Patients with thoracolumbar deformity without preoperative CD are likely to have greater improvements in HRQOL after surgery than patients with concomitant preoperative CD. Cervical positive sagittal alignment in adult patients with thoracolumbar deformity is strongly associated with inferior outcomes and failure to reach MCID at 2-year follow-up despite having similar baseline HRQOL to patients without CD. This was the first study to assess the impact of concomitant preoperative cervical malalignment in adult patients with thoracolumbar deformity. These results can help surgeons educate patients at risk for inferior outcomes and direct future research to identify an etiology and improve patient outcomes. Investigation into the etiology of the baseline cervical malalignment may be warranted in patients who present with thoracolumbar deformity.
-
There is substantial heterogeneity in the number of screws used per level fused in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) surgery. Assuming equivalent clinical outcomes, the potential cost savings of using fewer pedicle screws were estimated using a medical decision model with sensitivity analysis. ⋯ Reducing the number of screws used in scoliosis surgery could potentially decrease national AIS hospitalization costs by up to 7%, which may improve the safety and efficiency of care. However, such a screw construct must first be proven safe and effective.
-
Health care-related costs after lumbar spine surgery vary depending on procedure type and patient characteristics. Age, body mass index (BMI), number of spinal levels, and presence of comorbidities probably have significant effects on overall costs. The present study assessed the impact of patient characteristics on hospital costs in patients undergoing elective lumbar decompressive spine surgery. ⋯ Patient factors such as age, BMI, and comorbidities have significant and measurable effects on the postoperative hospital costs of elective lumbar decompression spinal surgeries. Knowledge of how these factors affect costs will become important as reimbursement models change.
-
Little is known about the accuracy of reporting of preoperative narcotic utilization in spinal surgery. As such, the purpose of this study is to compare postoperative narcotic consumption between preoperative narcotic utilizers who do and do not accurately self-report preoperative utilization. ⋯ The findings suggest that determining the actual preoperative narcotic utilization in patients who undergo spine surgery may help optimize postoperative pain management. Approximately 75% of patients used narcotics preoperatively. Patients who used narcotics preoperatively demonstrated significantly higher inpatient narcotic consumption, but this difference did not persist following discharge. Finally, postoperative narcotic consumption (inpatient and following discharge) was independent of the self-reported accuracy of preoperative narcotic utilization. Taken together, these findings suggest that corroboration between the patient's self-reported preoperative narcotic utilization and other sources of information (e.g., family members and narcotic registries) may be clinically valuable with respect to minimizing narcotic requirements, thereby potentially improving the management of postoperative pain.
-
Low lumbar osteoporotic vertebral collapse (OVC) has not been well documented compared with OVC of the thoracolumbar spine. The differences between low lumbar and thoracolumbar lesions should be studied to provide better treatment. The aim of this study was to clarify the clinical and imaging features as well as outcomes of low lumbar OVC and to discuss the appropriate surgical treatment. ⋯ The main types of low lumbar OVC were flat-type and concave type, which resulted in neurological symptoms by retropulsed bony fragments generating foraminal stenosis and/or canal stenosis. For patients with low lumbar OVC, decompression of the foraminal and canal stenosis with short fusion surgery via posterior approach can improve neurological symptoms. Since these patients are elderly with poor bone quality and other complications, treatments for both OVC and osteoporosis should be provided to achieve good clinical outcome.