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Lumbar fusion for degenerative disk disease (DDD) is associated with variable clinical outcomes. Patients with workers' compensation claims often have worse fusion outcomes than the general population. Few studies have evaluated the risk factors for poor outcomes within this clinically distinct population. The goal of this study was to identify preoperative predictors of return to work status after fusion for DDD in a workers' compensation setting. The authors used International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9), diagnosis and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) procedural codes to identify 1037 subjects from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation database who underwent fusion for DDD between 1993 and 2013. Of these subjects, 23.2% (n=241) made a sustained return to work within 2 years after fusion. To identify preoperative predictors of postoperative return to work status, the authors used multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusting for many important covariates. These included prolonged time out of work (P<.001; odds ratio [OR], 0.24), psychiatric history (P<.001; OR, 0.14), prolonged use of opioid analgesics (P<.001; OR, 0.46), male sex (P=.014; OR, 0.65), and legal representation (P=.042; OR, 0.67). The return to work rates associated with these risk factors were 10.4%, 2.0%, 11.9%, 21.1%, and 20.7%, respectively. Of the study subjects, 76.8% (n=796) did not return to work and had considerably worse postoperative outcomes, highlighted by chronic opioid dependence and high rates of failed back syndrome, additional surgery, and new psychiatric comorbidity. The low return to work rates and other generally poor outcomes reported in this study may indicate a more limited role for lumbar fusion among patients with DDD who have workers' compensation claims. More studies are needed to determine whether fusion for DDD can improve function and quality of life in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lumbar diskography (LD) is frequently used in the evaluation of patients with degenerative disk disease and diskogenic low back pain. Its safety and diagnostic accuracy are a topic of debate. No study has evaluated the efficacy of LD within the clinically distinct workers' compensation population. Within this setting, the authors wished to determine the effect of undergoing LD before diskogenic fusion on rates of postoperative failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS). Also, the authors compared opioid analgesic use between patients undergoing LD and patients not undergoing LD. ICD-9 diagnoses and CPT procedural codes were used to identify 1591 patients from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation who underwent diskogenic fusion between 1993 and 2013. A total of 682 patients underwent LD before fusion, which formed the LD group, with the remaining 909 patients as controls. The authors used a multivariate logistic regression analysis while correcting for relevant covariates. Diskography before fusion was a positive predictor of postoperative FBSS (P=.04; odds ratio, 1.44). The rate of FBSS was 13.9% of the LD group and 8.8% in the control group. Postoperatively, the LD group was supplied with a significantly higher daily opioid analgesic load (P=.04) for an average of 130 additional days (P<.01). Additional predictors of FBSS included the ability to remain at work within 1 week of index fusion (P=.02; odds ratio, 0.54), male sex (P=.03; odds ratio, 1.51), preoperative narcotic use for more than 1 year (P=.02; odds ratio, 1.53), and fusion technique (P=.03). Diskography should ideally help identify good candidates for lumbar fusion. However, the authors' study raises significant concerns regarding LD's current role within the workers' compensation population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]