Ambispective cohort study.Patients spend on average 3 to 7 days in hospital after lumbar fusion surgery. Patients who are unable to be discharged home may require a prolonged hospital stay while awaiting a bed at a rehabilitation facility, adding cost and imposing a considerable burden on the health care system. Our objective is to identify patient or procedure related predictors of discharge destination for patients undergoing posterior lumbar fusion.Analysis of data from the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network. Patients who underwent lumbar fusion for degenerative pathology between 2008 and 2015 were identified. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of the discharge destination.A total of 643 patients were identified from the database, 87.1% of the patients (N = 560) were discharged home while 12.9% (N = 83) required discharge to nonhome facilities. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, the predictors for discharge to a facility rather than home were identified including: increasing age (odds ratio [OR] 1.045, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.017 -1.075, P < .002), increasing body mass index (BMI) (OR 1.069, 95% CI 1.021 -1.118, P < .004), increasing disability score (OR 1.025, 95% CI 1.004 -1.046, P < .02), living alone preoperatively (OR 1.916, 95% CI 1.004-3.654, P < .05), increasing operating time (OR 1.005, 95% CI 1.003 -1.008, P < .0001), need for blood transfusion (OR 3.32, 95% CI 1.687-6.528, P < .001), and multilevel fusion surgery (OR 1.142, 95% CI 1.007 -1.297, P < .04).Older age, high BMI, living alone, high disability score, extended surgical time, blood transfusion, and multilevel fusion are significant factors that increase the odds of being discharged to facilities other than home.Level 3.
Study Design: Systematic review. Objectives: There is paucity of consensus on whether (1) the artery of Adamkiewicz (AoA) and (2) the number of contiguous segmental spinal arteries (SSAs) that can be safely ligated without causing spinal cord ischemia. The objective of this review is to determine the risk of motor neurological deficits from iatrogenic sacrifice of the (1) AoA and (2) its vicinity’s SSAs. Methods: Systematic review of the spine and vascular surgery was carried out in accordance to PRISMA guidelines. Outcomes in terms of risk of postoperative motor neurological deficit with occlusion of the AoA, bilateral contiguous SSAs, or unilateral contiguous SSAs were analyzed. Results: Ten articles, all retrospective case series, were included. Three studies (total N = 50) demonstrated a postoperative neurological deficit risk of 4.0% when the AoA is occluded. When 1 to 6 pairs of SSAs (without knowledge of AoA location) were ligated, the postoperative neurological deficit risk was 0.6%, as compared with 5.4% when more than 6 bilateral pairs of SSAs were ligated (relative risk [RR] = 0.105, 95% CI 0.013-0.841, P = .0337). For unilateral ligation of SSAs of two to nine levels, the risk of postoperative neurological deficit does not exceed 1.3%. Conclusion: The current best evidence indicates that (1) occlusion of the AoA and (2) occlusion of up to 6 pairs of SSAs is associated with a low risk of postoperative neurological deficit. This limited number of low quality studies restrict the ability to draw definitive conclusions. Ligation of AoA and SSAs should only be undertaken when absolutely required to mitigate the small but devastating risk of paralysis.
Introduction Pedicle screws are routinely used in contemporary spinal surgery. Screw misplacement is however correlated with potential adverse events. The goal of this study is to perform an economic evaluation looking specifically at the misplaced screws leading to reoperation secondary to neurological deficits or biomechanical concerns. Material and Methods A patient-level data cost-effectiveness analysis from the hospital perspective was conducted based on a single center observational study of prospectively collected data to determine the value of a navigation system coupled with intraoperative 3D imaging (O-arm Imaging and the StealthStation S7 Navigation Systems, Medtronic, Louisville, CO) in adult spinal surgery. The data source was a consecutive series of patients treated with the aid of computer-assisted surgery (treatment group) compared with a matched historical cohort of patients treated with conventional methods (control group). The primary effectiveness measure studied was the number of reoperations for misplaced screws. Results A total of 5,132 pedicle screws were inserted in 502 patients during the study period; 2,682 screws in 253 patients in the treatment group, and 2,450 screws in 249 patients in the control group. Overall accuracy rates were 95.2% for the treatment group and 86.9% for the control group. Two patients (0.8%) required a revision surgery in the treatment group (both within the same admission) compared with 15 patients (6%) in the control group (nine within the same admission and six within 1 year during a subsequent admission). Costs of the different alternatives were assessed based on the annuitization of capital expenditures method. Using this methodology, an incremental cost effectiveness ratio of $15,961/reoperation avoided was calculated for the computer-assisted surgery group. On the basis of a reoperation cost of $12,618, this new technology becomes cost saving for centers performing more than 254 instrumented spinal procedures per year. Conclusion Computer-assisted spinal surgery has the potential to reduce reoperation rates and thus to have serious cost-effectiveness implications. High acquisition and maintenance costs of this technology can be offset by equally high reoperation costs. Our cost-effectiveness analysis showed that for high-volume centers, this technology is economically justified.
OBJECT Clinical outcomes in patients with primary spinal osteochondromas are limited to small series and sporadic case reports. The authors present data on the first long-term investigation of spinal osteochondroma cases. METHODS An international, multicenter ambispective study on primary spinal osteochondroma was performed. Patients were included if they were diagnosed with an osteochondroma of the spine and received surgical treatment between October 1996 and June 2012 with at least 1 follow-up. Perioperative prognostic variables, including patient age, tumor size, spinal level, and resection, were analyzed in reference to long-term local recurrence and survival. Tumor resections were compared using Enneking appropriate (EA) or Enneking inappropriate surgical margins. RESULTS Osteochondromas were diagnosed in 27 patients at an average age of 37 years. Twenty-two lesions were found in the mobile spine (cervical, thoracic, or lumbar) and 5 in the fixed spine (sacrum). Twenty-three cases (88%) were benign tumors (Enneking tumor Stages 1-3), whereas 3 (12%) exhibited malignant changes (Enneking tumor Stages IA-IIB). Sixteen patients (62%) underwent en bloc treatment-that is, wide or marginal resection-and 10 (38%) underwent intralesional resection. Twenty-four operations (92%) followed EA margins. No one received adjuvant therapy. Two patients (8%) experienced recurrences: one in the fixed spine and one in the mobile spine. Both recurrences occurred in latent Stage 1 tumors following en bloc resection. No osteochondroma-related deaths were observed. CONCLUSIONS In the present study, most patients underwent en bloc resection and were treated as EA cases. Both recurrences occurred in the Stage 1 tumor cohort. Therefore, although benign in character, osteochondromas still require careful management and thorough follow-up.
International multicenter prospective observational cohort study on patients undergoing radiation +/- surgical intervention for the treatment of symptomatic spinal metastases.To investigate the association between the total Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score (SINS), individual SINS components and PROs.Data regarding patient demographics, diagnostics, treatment, and PROs (SF-36, SOSGOQ, EQ-5D) was collected at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks post-treatment. The SINS was assessed using routine diagnostic imaging. The association between SINS, PRO at baseline and change in PROs was examined with the Spearmans rank test.A total of 307 patients, including 174 patients who underwent surgery+/- radiotherapy and 133 patients who underwent radiotherapy were eligible for analyses. In the surgery+/- radiotherapy group, 18 (10.3%) patients with SINS score between 0-6, 118 (67.8%) with a SINS between 7-12 and 38 (21.8%) with a SINS between 13-18, as compared to 55 (41.4%) SINS 0-6, 71(53.4%) SINS 7-12 and 7 (5.2%) SINS 13-18 in the radiotherapy alone group. At baseline, the total SINS and the presence of mechanical pain was significantly associated with the SOSGOQ pain domain (r = -0.519, P < 0.001) and the NRS pain score (r = 0.445, P < 0.001) for all patients. The presence of mechanical pain demonstrated to be moderately associated with a positive change in PROs at 12 weeks post-treatment.Spinal instability, as defined by the SINS, was significantly correlated with PROs at baseline and change in PROs post-treatment. Mechanical pain, as a single SINS component, showed the highest correlations with PROs.
Vaccaro, Alexander R. MD, PhD; Fisher, Charles G. MD, MHSc; Whang, Peter G. MD; Patel, Alpesh A. MD; Thomas, Ken C. MD, MHSc; Mulpuri, Kishore MBBS, MHSc; Chi, John MD, MPH; Prasad, Srinivas K. MS, MD Author Information
Ambispective cohort study design.Cervical spine metastases have distinct clinical considerations. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of surgical intervention (± radiotherapy) or radiotherapy alone on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes in patients treated for cervical metastatic spine tumours.Patients treated with surgery and/or radiotherapy for cervical spine metastases were identified from the Epidemiology, Process, and Outcomes of Spine Oncology (EPOSO) international multicentre prospective observational study. Demographic, diagnostic, treatment, and HRQOL (numerical rating scale [NRS] pain, EQ-5D (3L), SF-36v2, and SOSGOQ) measures were prospectively collected at baseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postintervention.Fifty-five patients treated for cervical metastases were identified: 38 underwent surgery ± radiation and 17 received radiation alone. Surgically treated patients had higher mean spinal instability neoplastic scores compared with the radiation-alone group (13.0 vs 8.0, P < .001) and higher NRS pain scores and lower HRQOL scores compared to the radiation alone group (P < .05). From baseline to 6 months posttreatment, surgically treated patients demonstrated statistically significant improvements in NRS pain, EQ-5D (5L), and SOSGOQ2.0 scores compared with nonsignificant improvements in the radiotherapy alone group.Surgically treated cervical metastases patients presented with higher levels of instability, worse baseline pain and HRQOL scores compared with patients who underwent radiotherapy alone. Significant improvements in pain and HRQOL were noted for those patients who received surgical intervention. Limited or no improvements were found in those treated with radiotherapy alone.
