Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jul 2023
Comparative effectiveness of anesthetic technique on outcomes after lumbar spine surgery: a retrospective propensity score-matched analysis of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, 2009-2019.
The impact of anesthetic technique on spine surgery outcomes is controversial. Using a large national sample of patients, we compared outcomes after lumbar decompression under regional anesthesia (RA: spinal or epidural) or general anesthesia (GA). ⋯ Compared with GA, RA was associated with fewer complications, less blood transfusion and shorter LOS after spine surgery. Although statistically significant, the magnitude of effects was small and requires further prospective study.