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Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is effective for the treatment of single-level cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). However, the data surrounding multilevel CSM have remained controversial. One alternative is laminoplasty, although evidence comparing these strategies has remained sparse. In the present report, we retrospectively reviewed the readmission and reoperation rates for patients who had undergone ACDF or laminoplasty for multilevel CSM from a national longitudinal administrative claims database. We queried the MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters database to identify patients who had undergone ACDF or laminoplasty for multilevel CSM from 2007 to 2016. The patients were stratified by operation type. Patients aged <18 years, patients with a history of tumor or trauma, and patients who had undergone anteroposterior approach were excluded from the present study. A total of 5445 patients were included, of whom 1521 had undergone laminoplasty. A matched cohort who had undergone ACDF was identified. The overall 90-day postoperative complication rate was greater in the laminoplasty cohort (odds ratio, 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.18–1.86; P < 0.0001). The mean length of stay and 90-day readmission rates were greater in the laminoplasty cohort. The hospital and total payments of the index hospitalization were greater in the ACDF cohort, as were the total payments for ≤2 years after the index hospitalization. In the present administrative claims database study, no difference was found in the reoperation rate between ACDF and laminoplasty. ACDF resulted in fewer complications and readmissions compared with laminoplasty but was associated with greater costs. Additional prospective research is required to investigate the factors driving the higher costs of ACDF in this population and the long-term clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine postoperative complications and quality outcomes of single-stage and multistage surgical management for lumbar degenerative disease (LDD). This retrospective cohort study using a national administrative database identified patients who underwent surgery for LDD between 2007 and 2016. Patients were stratified based on whether their surgeon chose to perform single-stage or multistage LDD surgery, and these cohorts were mutually exclusive. Propensity score matching was used to mitigate intergroup differences between single-stage and multistage patients. Patients who underwent ≥3 levels of surgical correction, who were <18 years old, or who had any prior history of trauma or tumor were excluded from the study. Baseline comorbidities, postoperative complication rates, and reoperation rates were determined. Primary surgery for LDD was performed in 47,190 patients; 9438 (20%) of these patients underwent multistage surgery. After propensity score matching, baseline covariates of the 2 cohorts were similar. The complication rate was 6.1% in the single-stage cohort and 11.0% in the multistage cohort. Rates of posthemorrhagic anemia, infection, wound complication, deep vein thrombosis, and hematoma all were higher in the multistage cohort. Length of stay, revisions, and readmissions were also significantly higher in the multistage cohort. Through 2 years of follow-up, multistage surgery was associated with higher payments throughout the 2-year follow-up period ($57,036 vs. $39,318, P < 0.05). Single-stage surgery for LDD demonstrated improved outcomes and lower health care utilization. Spine surgeons should carefully consider single-stage surgery when treating patients with LDD requiring <3 levels of correction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinal arteriovenous malformations (AVM) are an abnormal interconnection of vasculature in the spine than can lead to significant neurologic deficit if left untreated. The objective of this study was to characterize how patients with spinal AVM initially presented, what treatment options were used, and their overall outcomes on a national scale. The MarketScan database was queried to identify adult patients diagnosed with a spinal AVM from 2007 to 2015. Trends in management, postoperative complication rates, and costs were determined. In total, 976 patients were identified with having a diagnosis of a spinal AVM. Patients were more commonly treated with an open incision than an embolization (40.1% vs. 15.4%). The overall complication rate was 33.61%. Spinal AVM admissions have been stable over the past decade, and mean cost of hospitalization has risen from of $48,700 in 2007 to $71,292 in 2015. Patients who underwent open surgery had a greater complication rate than those treated with embolization (31.15% vs. 18.25%, P < 0.005); however, this may be strongly influenced by complexity of spinal AVM pathology and not treatment modality. Costs of spinal AVM management continue to rise, even when treatment modalities have reduced length of stay significantly. Open surgery may lead to more postoperative complications and a greater length of stay than endovascular approaches. Further studies should look to identify the efficacy of endovascular approaches for spinal cord AVMs, particularly in complex spinal AVM traditionally treated with open surgery and to isolate factors leading to the elevated hospitalization costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The landmark Patchell trial established surgical decompression followed by adjuvant radiotherapy as standard-of-care for patients with spinal cord compression caused by metastatic cancer. However, little comparative evidence exists with regard to the choice of specific surgical approaches for these patients. We sought to conduct a comparative analysis of outcomes of surgical options for spinal metastatic disease. This was an epidemiologic study using national administrative data from the MarketScan database. We queried the MarketScan database (2007–2016), identifying patients with a diagnosis of spinal metastasis treated with surgical decompression (N = 1054). We used descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing to compare baseline characteristics, complications, quality metrics, and costs. We identified patients with spinal metastases undergoing laminectomy (N = 760), corpectomy (N = 193), or both combined procedures (laminectomy and corpectomy, N = 101). No significant differences in baseline demographics, follow-up time, or primary tumor histology were observed. We found a greater 30-day postoperative complication rate among patients undergoing corpectomy (P < 0.0001), driven by increased rate of postoperative anemia and pulmonary complications. Length of stay and 30-day readmission rates did not vary between surgical approaches. Total index hospitalization and 30-day payments were greatest among patients undergoing combined procedures and lowest for patients undergoing laminectomy alone. Our findings highlight distinct complication profiles and quality outcomes associated with selection of surgical approach for patients with spinal metastases. These findings must be interpreted with a clear understanding of the limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thoracic and lumbar spine surgical procedures are performed for a variety of pathologies. The literature consists of multiple retrospective reviews examining complication prevalence with the surgical treatment of these disorders. However, there is limited direct examination of perioperative complications through a prospective approach. Of the prospective assessments, the majority focuses on specific surgical procedures or provides a limited assessment of certain spinal implants. Prospective assessments of complication incidence in broad patient populations are limited. This article analyzes a prospectively collected database of patients who underwent a thoracic and/or lumbar spine surgery at a large tertiary care center and the effect of surgical approach (anterior or posterior) on the incidence of early complications. Methods: Data collection was performed prospectively on 128 patients on the neurosurgical spine service at Thomas Jefferson University hospital from May to December 2008. Data on preoperative diagnosis, medical comorbidities, body mass index, surgical approach and procedure, length of stay, and complication occurrence was recorded and analyzed. Acute complications or adverse events occurring within the initial 30 days after each operative procedure were included. All medical adverse events were included as complications. A previously circumstantiated binary definition of major and minor complications was used to stratify the data. Results: Overall, 76 of 128 patients (59.4%) in this cohort experienced at least one complication. Anterior thoracic and lumbar procedures had an 83.3% (5/6) incidence of complications. Of those patients having solely a posterior thoracic and lumbar procedures, 37 of 75 (49.3%) experienced at least one complication. Combined anterior and posterior surgical procedure had a complication incidence of 34 of 47 (72.3%). The mean number of complications reached significance for the minor and overall complications groups (P = .0076 and .0172, respectively, Poisson regression). Comparing the incidence of complications reveals the overall complications in the posterior alone group compared with the anterior/posterior combined group was significantly lower (P = .0134). Those undergoing instrumented fusions were statistically more likely to encounter complications (P<.001). Conclusions: There is a considerably higher complication incidence than previously reported for thoracic, thoracolumbar, and lumbar spine operations. A prospective approach and a broad definition of perioperative complications increased the recorded incidence of perioperative adverse events and complications. The case complexity of a tertiary referral center may also have escalated the increased incidence. Complications were more common in patients undergoing anterior and anterior/posterior procedures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]