Trends of postoperative length of stay in spine surgery over 10 years in Japan based on a prospective multicenter database

Abstract Objectives To identify factors associated with prolonged length of stay (LOS) in spine surgery, with the goal of establishing details of LOS for multiple diseases and surgical procedures. Patients and methods The subjects were patients who underwent spine surgery at 10 facilities in the Nagoya Spine Group from January 2005 to December 2015. Data were collected for patient background, primary spinal pathology, anatomical location of the lesion, and surgical methods. The primary outcome was LOS, which was defined as the calendar days from surgery to hospital discharge. Results A total of 10,829 patients (5953 males, 4876 females; age 5–93 years, mean 60.2 ± 28.8 years) were identified in the database. Average follow-up was 61 months (range: 13–120 months). Average LOS was 22.3 ± 21.3 days, and there was a gradual decrease in LOS over the study period. LOS was significantly correlated with age, and prolonged LOS was significantly associated with thoracic spine surgery and significantly longer after surgery with instrumentation. Average LOS was >30 days for intramedullary tumor resection and posterior cervical fusion, but only 10.2 days for microendoscopic discectomy. Reoperation was performed in 210 patients (1.9%) and these patients had a significantly higher average LOS of 43.1 days. Conclusion These results will assist quality improvement in spine surgery. The identified risk factors for prolonged LOS will also assist in planning of surgery, postoperative care, and discharge, with the goal of reducing health care costs.