1. Workers' Compensation Association With Clinical Outcomes After Anterior Cervical Diskectomy and Fusion.
- Author
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Cha EDK, Lynch CP, Jacob KC, Patel MR, Parrish JM, Jenkins NW, Geoghegan CE, Jadczak CN, Mohan S, and Singh K
- Subjects
- Cervical Vertebrae surgery, Diskectomy, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Treatment Outcome, Spinal Fusion, Workers' Compensation
- Abstract
Background: Research has suggested that workers' compensation (WC) status can result in poor outcomes after anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion (ACDF)., Objective: To determine the influence WC status has on postoperative clinical outcomes after ACDF., Methods: A surgical database was reviewed for patients undergoing primary or revision single-level ACDF. Patients were grouped into WC vs Non-WC, and differences in baseline characteristics were assessed. Postoperative improvement was assessed for differences in mean scores between WC subgroups for visual analog scale (VAS) arm, VAS neck, 12-item Short Form Physical Composite Score, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System physical function (PF), and Neck Disability Index (NDI) at preoperative and postoperative time points. Minimum clinically important difference (MCID) achievement was compared between groups., Results: The patient cohort included 44 with WC and 95 without. The cohort was 40% female with an average age of 48 years and mean body mass index of 30. Mean VAS arm, VAS neck, NDI, 12-item Short-Form Physical Composite Score, and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System PF scores differed between groups; however, the difference was not sustained at the 1-yr time point. MCID achievement among WC subgroups was different for VAS arm (6 wk through 6 mo, P = .005), VAS neck (3 and 6 mo, P < .01), and NDI (3 and 6 mo, P < .05). No statistically significant difference was noted between cohorts for overall rates of MCID achievement for all patient-reported outcome measures collected., Conclusion: WC patients reported similar preoperative and 1-yr postoperative neck and arm pain compared with non-WC patients after ACDF. One-yr MCID achievement rates were similar between cohorts for disability and PF scores., (Copyright © Congress of Neurological Surgeons 2021. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2022
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