Multimodal Versus Patient-Controlled Analgesia After an Anterior Cervical Decompression and Fusion

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained surgical registry. OBJECTIVE To compare postoperative narcotic consumption between multimodal analgesia (MMA) and patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) after an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Studies suggest that a multimodal approach to pain management leads to decreased pain and morphine consumption after total joint arthroplasty and lumbar spinal procedures. Patients and surgeons would benefit from knowing whether a multimodal approach to pain management is superior to PCA for ACDF. METHODS A retrospective cohort study of ACDF patients receiving either MMA or PCA was conducted. Inpatient narcotic consumption, pain scores, nausea/vomiting, hospital length of stay, and narcotic dependence during the months after surgery were compared between MMA and PCA. RESULTS A total of 239 patients met inclusion criteria. Of these, 55 (23.0%) received MMA and 184 (77.0%) received PCA. Patients who received MMA had a lower rate of inpatient narcotic consumption (2.5 OME/h vs. 5.8 OME/h, P