Influence of unintended dural tears on postoperative outcomes in lumbar surgery patients: a multicenter observational study with propensity scoring

Incidental dural tears do not affect the overall patients' reported outcome of spine surgery at long-term follow-up: results of a systematic review

To conduct a systematic review of the literature in order to establish if there is an overall adverse effect of accidental durotomy on the long-term patients' reported outcome after elective spine surgery. A systematic literature search was carried out according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Data about pre- and postoperative clinical outcomes of patients with accidental durotomy and patients without were extracted and analysed. After screening, eleven studies were included with a total of 80,541 patients. About 4112 of these patients (5.10%) had incidental dural tear. When comparing patients with dural tear to patients without, 9/11 authors found no patients' reported differences at last follow-up. One author found a slightly worse VAS back pain in dural tear patients, and another author found inferior SF-36 and ODI scores in dural tear patients (both below minimal clinically important difference). Accidental dural tear did not have a significant adverse effect on clinical outcome of elective spine surgery. More studies are needed to better demonstrate this result.

Incidence, Risk Factors, and Outcomes of Incidental Durotomy during Lumbar Spine Decompression with or without Fusion

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

PURPOSE

The primary objective of this study was to determine the incidence and risk factors for incidental durotomies during lumbar decompression surgeries. In addition, we aimed to determine the changes in patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) based on incidental durotomy status.

OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE

There is limited literature investigating the affect of incidental durotomy on patient reported outcome measures. While the majority of research does not suggest differences in complications, readmission, or revision rates, many studies rely on public databases, and their sensitivity and specificity for identifying incidental durotomies is unknown.

METHODS

Patients undergoing lumbar decompression with or without fusion at a single tertiary care center were grouped based on the presence of a durotomy. Multivariate analysis was performed for length of stay (LOS), hospital readmissions, and changes in PROMs. To identify surgical risk factors for durotomy, 3:1 propensity matching was performed using stepwise logistic regression. The sensitivity and specificity of the International Classification of Disease, 10th revision (ICD-10) codes (G96.11 and G97.41) were also assessed.

RESULTS

Of the 3,684 consecutive patients who underwent lumbar decompressions, 533 (14.5%) had durotomies, and a complete set of PROMs (preoperative and 1-year postoperative) were available for 737 patients (20.0%). Incidental durotomy was an independent predictor of increased LOS but not hospital readmission or worse PROMs. The durotomy repair method was not associated with hospital readmission or LOS. However, repair with collagen graft and suture predicted reduced improvement in Visual Analog Scale back (β =2.56, p=0.004). Independent risk factors for incidental durotomies included revisions (odds ratio [OR], 1.73; p<0.001), levels decompressed (OR, 1.11; p=0.005), and preoperative diagnosis of spondylolisthesis or thoracolumbar kyphosis. The sensitivity and specificity of ICD-10 codes were 5.4% and 99.9%, respectively, for identifying durotomies.

CONCLUSIONS

The durotomy rate for lumbar decompressions was 14.5%. No differences in outcomes were detected except for increased LOS. Database studies relying on ICD codes should be interpreted with caution due to the limited sensitivity in identifying incidental durotomies.

Impact of body mass index on outcomes after lumbar spine surgery

The impact of body mass index (BMI) on outcomes after lumbar spine surgery is currently unknown. Previous studies have reported conflicting evidence for patients with high BMI, while little research has been conducted on outcomes for underweight patients. This study aims to examine the impact of BMI on outcomes after lumbar spine surgery. This prospective cohort study enrolled 5622 patients; of which, 194, 5027, and 401 were in the low (< 18.5 kg/m²), normal (18.5-30), and high (≥ 30) BMI groups, respectively. Pain was assessed via the numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) for the lower back, buttock, leg, and plantar area. Quality of life was assessed via the EuroQol 5 Dimension (EQ-5D) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Inverse probability weighting with propensity scores was used to adjust patient demographics and clinical characteristics between the groups. After adjustment, the 1-year postoperative scores differed significantly between groups in terms of leg pain. The proportion of patients who achieved a 50% decrease in postoperative NPRS score for leg pain was also significantly different. Obese patients reported less improvement in leg pain after lumbar spine surgery. The outcomes of patients with low BMI were not inferior to those of patients with normal BMI.

Predictors for hemostatic thrombin-gelatin matrix usage in spine surgery: a multicenter observational study

STUDY DESIGN

A prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES

Thrombin-gelatin matrix (TGM) is a rapid and potent hemostatic agent, but it has some limitations, including the cost and its preparation time. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current trend in the use of TGM and to identify the predictors for TGM usage in order to ensure its proper use and optimized resource allocation.

METHODS

A total of 5520 patients who underwent spine surgery in a multicenter study group within a year were included in the study. The demographic factors and the surgical factors including spinal levels operated, emergency surgery, reoperation, approach, durotomy, instrumented fixation, interbody fusion, osteotomy, and microendoscopy-assistance were investigated. TGM usage and whether it was routine or unplanned use for uncontrolled bleeding were also checked. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors for unplanned use of TGM.

RESULTS

Intraoperative TGM was used in 1934 cases (35.0%), among which 714 were unplanned (12.9%). Predictors of unplanned TGM use were female gender (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 1.21, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02-1.43, p = 0.03), ASA grade ≥ 2 (OR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.04-1.72, p = 0.02), cervical spine (OR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.24-1.94, p < 0.001), tumor (OR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.34-3.03, p < 0.001), posterior approach (OR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.26-2.18, p < 0.001), durotomy (OR: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.24-2.20, p < 0.001), instrumentation (OR: 1.30, 1.03-1.63, p = 0.02), osteotomy (OR: 5.00, 2.76-9.05, p < 0.001), and microendoscopy (OR: 2.24, 1.84-2.73, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Many of the predictors for unplanned TGM use have been previously reported as risk factors for intraoperative massive hemorrhaging and blood transfusion. However, other newly revealed factors can be predictors of bleeding that is technically challenging to control. While routine usage of TGM in these cases will require further justification, these novel findings are valuable for implementing preoperative precautions and optimizing resource allocation.

Risk factors and management strategies for cerebrospinal fluid leakage following lumbar posterior surgery

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the risk factors of cerebrospinal fluid leakage (CSFL) following lumbar posterior surgery and summarize the related management strategies.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed on 3179 patients with CSFL strategies lumbar posterior surgery in our hospital from January 2019 to December 2020. There were 807 cases of lumbar disc hemiation (LDH), 1143 cases of lumbar spinal stenosi (LSS), 1122 cases of lumbar spondylolisthesis(LS), 93 cases of lumbar degenerative scoliosis(LDS),14 cases of lumbar spinal benign tumor (LST). Data of gender, age, body mass index(BMI), duration of disease, diabete, smoking history, preoperative epidural steroid injection, number of surgical levels, surgical methods (total laminar decompression, fenestration decompression), revision surgery, drainage tube removal time, suture removal time, and complications were recorded.

RESULTS

The incidence of 115 cases with cerebrospinal fluid leakage, was 3.6% (115/3179).One-way ANOVA showed that gender, body mass index (BMI), smoking history, combined with type 2 diabetes and surgical method had no significant effect on CSFL (P > 0.05). Age, type of disease, duration of disease, preoperative epidural steroid injection, number of surgical levels and revision surgery had effects on CSFL (P < 0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that type of disease, preoperative epidural steroid injection, number of surgical levels and revision surgery were significantly affected CSFL (P < 0.05).Drainage tube removal time of CSFL patients ranged from 7 to 11 days, with an average of 7.1 ± 0.5 days, drainage tube removal time of patients without CSFL was 1-3 days, with an average of 2.0 ± 0.1 days, and there was a statistical difference between the two groups (P < 0.05).The removal time of CSFL patients was 12-14 days, with an average of 13.1 ± 2.7 days, and the removal time of patients without CSFL was 10-14 days, with an average of 12.9 ± 2.2 days, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Type of disease, preoperative epidural steroid injection, number of surgical levels and revision surgery were the risk factors for CSFL. Effective prevention were the key to CSFL in lumbar surgery. Once appear, CSFL can also be effectively dealt without obvious adverse reactions after intraoperative effectively repair dural, head down, adequate drainage after operation, the high position, rehydration treatment, and other treatments.

The modified frailty index and patient outcomes following transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion surgery for single-level degenerative spine disease

OBJECTIVE

The modified frailty index (mFI) is a simple tool that measures physiological reserve based on a thorough history and physical examination. Its use has been validated in several surgical specialties, including spinal deformity surgery. Prior research has suggested no significant differences in clinical outcomes between elderly and nonelderly patients undergoing posterior lumbar interbody fusion. The authors sought to investigate the use of the mFI in patients undergoing transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) and the relationship between frailty scores and clinical outcomes.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review was conducted on 198 patients who underwent a single-level TLIF over a 60-month period at a single institution. For all patients, an mFI score was computed incorporating a set of 11 clinical factors to assess preexisting comorbidities and functional status. Clinical follow-up and health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) scores were obtained at baseline and regular intervals of 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year following surgery.

RESULTS

Patients were grouped according to their level of frailty: no frailty (mFI = 0), mild frailty (mFI = 0.09), moderate frailty (mFI = 0.18), and severe frailty (mFI ≥ 0.27). One-way ANOVA revealed increasing levels of frailty to be associated with an increased rate of complications, from 10.3% to 63.6%. In addition, increasing levels of frailty were associated with longer hospital length of stay (LOS), from 3.1 days to 6.5 days, and lower rates of disposition to home. At the 1-year follow-up, increased levels of frailty were associated with worse HRQOL measures.

CONCLUSIONS

Increasing mFI score was associated with higher morbidity, longer inpatient LOS, and a lower probability of discharge to home in patients undergoing single-level TLIF. Consideration of the mFI may help surgeons improve decision-making across the spectrum of patients who are at risk from frailty.

Risk factors for worsening sexual function after lumbar spine surgery and characteristics of non-responders to the questionnaire of sex life

PURPOSE

To precisely assess the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (ODQ) and its total score (Oswestry Disability Index: ODI) and reveal characteristics of non-responders of the 8th item of ODQ (ODI-8) relating to sexual function. Furthermore, we evaluated risk factors for aggravation of postoperative sexual function.

METHODS

We enrolled patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery at eight hospitals between April 2017 and November 2018. Patients' background data and operative factors were collected. We also assessed pain or dysesthesia (lower back, buttock, leg, and plantar area) on a numerical rating scale, EuroQol 5 Dimension, core outcome measures index back, and ODI before and 1 year after surgery. Factor analysis was conducted for the ODQ. Non-responders of the ODI-8 were compared with full-responders using propensity score matching. Risk factors for worsening ODI-8 were evaluated by multivariate logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

Of the 2,610 patients enrolled, 601 (23.0%) answered all but the ODI-8 item; these patients were likely to show better preoperative clinical symptoms than full-responders, even after adjusting for age and gender using propensity scores. Age, spinal deformity, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA-PS) 3/4 were significant risk factors for postoperative aggravation of the ODI-8. Factor analysis revealed that the ODQ was composed of dynamic and static activities; the ODI-8 was considered a dynamic activity.

CONCLUSION

Almost a fourth of the patients skipped the ODI-8. Age, the presence of spinal deformity, and worse ASA-PS were found to be risk factors for postoperative aggravation of sexual function.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE I

Diagnostic: individual cross-sectional studies with the consistently applied reference standard and blinding.