Impact of Sickle Cell Anemia on Inpatient Morbidity After Spinal Fusion

Study Design: A retrospective study. Objective: To determine the impact of sickle cell anemia on perioperative outcomes and resource utilization in elective spinal fusion surgery. Summary of Background Data: Sickle cell anemia has been identified as an important surgical risk factor in otolaryngology, cardiothoracic surgery, general surgery, and total joint arthroplasty. However, the impact of sickle cell anemia on elective spine surgery is unknown. Methods: Hospitalizations for elective spinal fusion surgery between the years of 2001–2014 from the US National Inpatient Sample were identified using ICD-9-CM codes and patients were grouped into those with and without sickle cell anemia. The main outcome measures were in-hospital neurological, respiratory, cardiac, gastrointestinal, renal and urinary, pulmonary embolism, and wound-related complications and mortality. Length of stay and inpatient costs were also collected. Multivariable logistic regressions were conducted to compare the in-hospital outcomes of patients undergoing elective spinal fusion with or without sickle cell anemia. Results: From a total of 4,542,719 patients undergoing elective spinal fusions from 2001 to 2014, 456 sickle cell disease patients were identified. Sickle cell anemia is a significant independent predictor for pulmonary embolism [odds ratio (OR)=7.37; confidence interval (CI), 4.27–12.71; P
Source: Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques - Category: Surgery Tags: Primary Research Source Type: research