Marijuana Use and its Effect on Clinical Outcomes and Revision Rates in Patients Undergoing Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion

Study Design. A retrospective cohort study. Objective. To determine if (1) preoperative marijuana use increased complications, readmission, or reoperation rates following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), (2) identify if preoperative marijuana use resulted in worse patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), and (3) investigate if preoperative marijuana use affects the quantity of opioid prescriptions in the perioperative period. Summary of Background Data. A growing number of states have legalized recreational and/or medical marijuana, thus increasing the number of patients who report preoperative marijuana use. The effects of marijuana on clinical outcomes and PROMs in the postoperative period are unknown. Methods. All patients 18 years of age and older who underwent primary one- to four-level ACDF with preoperative marijuana use at our academic institution were retrospectively identified. A 3:1 propensity match was conducted to compare patients who used marijuana versus those who did not. Patient demographics, surgical characteristics, clinical outcomes, and PROMs were compared between groups. Multivariate regression models measured the effect of marijuana use on the likelihood of requiring a reoperation and whether marijuana use predicted inferior PROM improvements at the one-year postoperative period. Results. Of the 240 patients included, 60 (25.0%) used marijuana preoperatively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis iden...
Source: Spine - Category: Orthopaedics Tags: Cervical Spine Source Type: research