Tyler Cole

Revision rates and complication incidence in single- and multilevel anterior cervical discectomy and fusion procedures: an administrative database study.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT The natural history of cervical degenerative disease with operative management has not been well described. Even with symptomatic and radiographic evidence of multilevel cervical disease, it is unclear whether single- or multilevel anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) procedures produce superior long-term outcomes. PURPOSE To describe national trends in revision rates, complications, and readmission for patients undergoing single and multilevel ACDF. STUDY DESIGN Administrative database study. PATIENT SAMPLE Between 2006 and 2010, 92,867 patients were recorded for ACDF procedures in the Thomson Reuters MarketScan database. Restricting to patients with >24 months follow-up, 28,777 patients fulfilled our inclusion criteria, of which 12,744 (44%) underwent single-level and 16,033 (56%) underwent multilevel ACDFs. OUTCOME MEASURES Revision rates and postoperative complications. METHODS We used the MarketScan database from 2006 to 2010 to select ACDF procedures based on Current Procedural Terminology coding at inpatient visit. Outcome measures were ascertained using either International Classification of Disease version 9 or Current Procedural Terminology coding. RESULTS Perioperative complications were more common in multilevel procedures (odds ratio [OR], 1.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2-1.6; p<.0001). Single-level ACDF patients had higher rates of postoperative cervical epidural steroid injections (OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.8-1.0; p=.01). Within 30 days after index procedure, the multilevel ACDF cohort was 1.6 times more likely to have undergone revision (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1-2.4; p=.02). At 2 years follow-up, revision rates were 9.13% in the single-level ACDF cohort and 10.7% for multilevel ACDFs (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1-1.3; p<.0001). In a multivariate analysis at 2 years follow-up, patients from the multilevel cohort were more likely to have received a surgical revision (OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 1.0-1.2; p=.001), to be readmitted into the hospital for any cause (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1-1.4; p=.007), and to have suffered complications (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.5; p=.0003). CONCLUSIONS In this study, we report rates of adverse events and the need for revision surgery in patients undergoing single versus multilevel ACDFs. Increasing number of levels fused at the time of index surgery correlated with increased rate of reoperations. Multilevel ACDF patients requiring additional surgery more often underwent more extensive revision surgeries.

Intraoperative neuromonitoring in single-level spinal procedures: a retrospective propensity score-matched analysis in a national longitudinal database.

Study Design. Retrospective propensity score–matched analysis on a national database (MarketScan) between 2006 and 2010. Objective. To compare rates of neurological deficits after elective single-level spinal procedures with and without intraoperative neuromonitoring, as well as associated payment differences and geographic variance. Summary of Background Data. Intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring is a technique that may contribute to avoiding permanent neurological injury during some spine surgery procedures. However, it is unclear whether all patients undergoing spine surgery benefit from neuromonitoring. Methods. An identified 85,640 patients underwent single-level spinal procedures including anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), lumbar fusion, lumbar laminectomy, or lumbar discectomy. Neuromonitoring was identified with appropriate Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. Cohorts were balanced on baseline comorbidities and procedure characteristics using propensity score matching. Trauma and spinal tumors cases were excluded. Results. Patients (12.66%) received neuromonitoring intraoperatively. Lumbar laminectomies had reduced 30-day neurological complication rate with neuromonitoring (0.0% vs. 1.18%, P = 0.002). Neuromonitoring did not correlate with reduced intraoperative neurological complications in ACDFs (0.09% vs. 0.13%), lumbar fusions (0.32% vs. 0.58%), or lumbar discectomy (1.24% vs. 0.91%). With the addition of neuromonitoring, payments for ACDFs increased 16.24% (

Usage of Recombinant Human Bone Morphogenetic Protein in Cervical Spine Procedures: Analysis of the Marketscan Longitudinal Database

3842), lumbar fusions 7.84% (

Anterior Versus Posterior Approach for Multilevel Degenerative Cervical Disease: A Retrospective Propensity Score-Matched Study of the MarketScan Database.

3540), lumbar laminectomies 24.33% (

Chapter 9: Analyses Using Disease Ontologies

3704), and lumbar discectomies 22.54% (

Improved capture of adverse events after spinal surgery procedures with a longitudinal administrative database

2859). Significant geographic variation was evident. Some states had no recorded single-level spinal cases with concurrent neuromonitoring. Rates for ACDFs and lumbar fusions, laminectomies, and discectomies ranged as high as 61%, 58%, 22%, and 21%, respectively. Conclusion. With intraoperative neurological monitoring in single-level procedures, neurological complications were decreased only among lumbar laminectomies. No difference was observed in ACDFs, lumbar fusions, or lumbar discectomies. There was a significant increase in total payments associated with the index procedure and hospitalization. We demonstrate significant geographic variation in neuromonitoring. Level of Evidence: 3

Surgeon Procedure Volume and Complication Rates in Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusions: Analysis of a National Longitudinal Database.

BACKGROUND Usage of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein (rhBMP) in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) procedures is controversial. Studies suggest increased rates of dysphagia, hematoma or seroma, and severe airway compromise in anterior cervical spine procedures using rhBMP. The purpose of the present study was to determine and describe national utilization trends and complication rates associated with rhBMP usage in anterior cervical spine procedures. METHODS The MarketScan database from 2006 to 2010 was retrospectively queried to identify 91,543 patients who underwent ACDF with or without cervical corpectomy. Patient selection and outcomes were ascertained with use of ICD-9-CM (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification) and CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) coding. A total of 3197 patients were treated with rhBMP intraoperatively. Mean follow-up was 588 days (interquartile range [IQR], 205 to 886 days) in the non-treated cohort and 591 days (IQR, 203 to 925 days) in the rhBMP-treated cohort. Multivariate logistic regression as well as propensity score analysis were used to evaluate the association of rhBMP usage with postoperative complications. RESULTS In propensity score-adjusted models, rhBMP usage was associated with an increased risk of any complication (odds ratio [OR] = 1.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2 to 1.5) and specific complications such as hematoma or seroma (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.4 to 2.3), dysphagia (OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 1.1 to 1.5), and any pulmonary complication (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.2 to 1.8) within thirty days postoperatively. There were no significant differences in the rates of readmission, in-hospital mortality, referral to pain management, new malignancy, or reoperation between the two cohorts. Usage of rhBMP was associated with a mean increase of

Craniotomy for Resection of Meningioma: An Age-Stratified Analysis of the MarketScan Longitudinal Database

5545 (19%) in total payments to the hospital and primary physician (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS We found an increased overall rate of postoperative complications in patients receiving rhBMP for cervical spinal fusion procedures compared with patients not receiving rhBMP. Hematoma or seroma, pulmonary complications, and dysphagia were also more common in the rhBMP cohort. Usage of rhBMP in a case was associated with

Predicting Occurrence of Spine Surgery Complications Using “Big Data” Modeling of an Administrative Claims Database

311 greater payments to the surgeon and

Retrosigmoid Versus Translabyrinthine Approach for Acoustic Neuroma Resection: An Assessment of Complications and Payments in a Longitudinal Administrative Database

4213 greater payments to the hospital. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.