Role of Altmetric Attention Scores in Evaluating the Influence of Spine Surgery Research.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort.

Objective: To analyze the annual trends in the most prevalent topics, journals, and geographic regions of the top 100 spine surgery articles, as determined by altmetric attention scores (AASs). We also describe the relationship between AAS and traditional article metrics.

Higher socioeconomic status is associated with greater rates of surgical resource utilization prior to spine fusion surgery.

Background Context: Previous research has demonstrated an association between socioeconomic status (SES) and patient health, specifically noting that patients of lower SES have poor health outcomes. Understanding how social factors, including socioeconomic status (SES), relate to disparities in health outcomes is critical to closing gaps in equitable care to patients. While several studies have examined the effect of SES on postoperative spine outcomes, there is limited spine literature evaluating SES in the context of barriers to spine care.

Impact of Antidepressant Use on Intraoperative Blood Loss and Transfusion Rates in Lumbar Fusion Surgery.

Objective: A quarter of spine surgery patients take antidepressants. Basic science research has suggested serotonergic antidepressants impair platelet function. This has been supported by only a small number of works in the setting of spine surgery.

Postoperative Ketamine May be Associated with Venous Thromboembolism in Chronic Opioid Users After Spine Surgery.

Objective: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious postoperative adverse event after spine surgery. In patients with pain refractory to typical multimodal analgesia regimens after spine surgery, whom are often chronic opioid users, perioperative ketamine is an alternative analgesic that has grown in popularity. The aim of this study is to assess the risk of VTE in chronic opioid users undergoing spine surgery.

The Effect of Community-Level Socioeconomic Status on Surgical Outcomes Following Revision Lumbar Fusion.

Background: The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of community-level socioeconomic status (SES) on surgical outcomes and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) following revision lumbar fusion.

Methods: Adult patients who underwent revision lumbar fusion surgery from 2011-2021 were grouped by Distressed Community Index (DCI) into Prosperous, Comfortable, Mid-tier, and At-Risk/Distressed cohorts. Demographics, surgical information, and PROMs were compared based on DCI community status.

Lumbar Fusion Surgical Prophylaxis Using Cefazolin vs. Vancomycin in the Penicillin-Allergic Patient.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To compare peri- and postoperative infection rates among patients with mild to moderate penicillin allergies who receive cefazolin vs vancomycin as prophylaxis for lumbar fusion. Additionally, we sought to determine if patients receiving cefazolin exhibited any clinical symptoms suggestive of drug-induced hypersensitivity reactions, and to compare those rates to patients who received vancomycin.

One-year patient reported outcomes after single-level lumbar fusion at orthopedic specialty hospital compared to tertiary referral center.

Background Context: Lumbar spinal fusion is an increasingly common operation to treat symptoms related to degenerative disorders of the spine including radiculopathy and pain. As the volume of spine surgeries grows, it is becoming increasingly common for procedures to take place in nontertiary care centers, including orthopaedic specialty hospitals (OSH). While previous research demonstrates that surgical outcomes at an OSH are noninferior to those at a tertiary referral center (TRC), the implications of this difference on patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) have not been sufficiently assessed.

Opioid Prescription Trends Among Orthopaedic, Primary Care, and Pain Management Providers in Spine Surgery Patients.

Objective: To determine prescription trends across specialties in the perioperative care of patients undergoing spine surgery from 2018 to 2021.

Summary Of Background Data: A range of measures, including implementation of state prescription drug monitoring programs, have been instituted to combat the opioid epidemic. Considering the continued presence of opioids for spine-related pain management, a better understanding of the patterns of opioid prescription practices may be important for future intervention.

Socioeconomic Status Impacts Length of Stay and Nonhome Discharge Disposition After Posterior Cervical Decompression and Fusion.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To examine how community-level economic disadvantage impacts short-term outcomes following posterior cervical decompression and fusion (PCDF) for cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Summary Of Background Data: The effects of socioeconomic factors, measured by the Distress Community Index (DCI), on postoperative outcomes after PCDF are underexplored.

Preoperative Radiographic Predictors of Subsequent Fusion After Lumbar Decompression Surgery.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine which demographic, surgical, and radiographic preoperative characteristics are most associated with the need for subsequent fusion after decompression lumbar spinal surgery.

Summary Of Background Data: There is a relatively high rate of the need for repeat decompression or fusion after an index decompression procedure for degenerative spine disease.

Which North American spine society disc herniation morphology descriptors are most associated with improvements in clinical outcomes after microdiscectomy?

Background: The North American Spine Society (NASS) assembled the first ever comprehensive naming system for describing lumbar disc disease, including lumbar disc herniation. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine which NASS descriptors are most predictive of independent patient-reported outcomes after microdiscectomy and (2) to identify the inter-rater reliability of each NASS descriptor.

Methods: Adult patients (≥18 years) who underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy from 2014-2021 were retrospectively identified.

Factors Related to Clinical Performance in Spine Surgery Fellowship: Can We Predict Success.

Introduction: The factors most important in the spine fellowship match may not ultimately correlate with quality of performance during fellowship. This study examined the spine fellow applicant metrics correlated with high application rank compared with the metrics associated with the strongest clinical performance during fellowship.

Methods: Spine fellow applications at three academic institutions were retrieved from the San Francisco Match database (first available to 2021) and deidentified for application review.

Postoperative opioid consumption patterns diverge between propensity matched patients undergoing traumatic and elective cervical spine fusion.

Background Context: Prolonged opioid therapy following spine surgery is an ongoing postoperative concern. While prior studies have investigated postoperative opioid use patterns in the elective cervical surgery patient population, to our knowledge, opioid use patterns in patients undergoing surgery for traumatic cervical spine injuries have not been elucidated.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare opioid use and prescription patterns in the postoperative pain management of patients undergoing traumatic and elective cervical spine fusion surgery.

The Impact of Outpatient Physical Therapy on Patient-Reported Outcomes After Lumbar Fusion: Perspective from A Bundled Care Dataset.

Objective/background: As value-based care grows in popularity across the United States, more payers have turned toward bundled payment models for surgical procedures. Though episode costs in spine are highly variable, physical therapy (PT) has been identified as a driver of 90-day cost. The goal of this study is to assess the impact of postoperative PT on patient-reported outcomes and cost after lumbar fusion surgery using bundled insurance data.

The Impact of the Preoperative Mental Health Component Summary (MCS) Score on Short-term Outcomes after Lumbar Fusion.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to characterize the relationship between preoperative MCS and surgical outcomes after lumbar spine surgery including inpatient complications, length of stay, readmissions, and reoperations.

Summary Of Background Data: As the prevalence of mental health disorders in the United States increases, it is important to identify risks associated with poor mental health status in the surgical spine patient.

Does Paraspinal Muscle Mass Predict Lumbar Lordosis Before and After Decompression for Degenerative Spinal Stenosis?

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether muscle mass and quality of the lumbar paraspinal muscles was associated with improvements in lumbar lordosis and other sagittal parameters after isolated posterior lumbar decompression surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis.

Summary Of Background Data: Individuals may develop sagittal imbalance over time, either due to degenerative changes or other spinal conditions.

The Relationship Between Disc Herniation Morphology and Patient-Reported Outcomes after Microdiscectomy.

Objective: Determine if herniation morphology based on the Michigan State University Classification is associated with differences in (1) patient-reported outcome measures (or (2) surgical outcomes after a microdiscectomy.

Methods: Adult patients undergoing single-level microdiscectomy between 2014 and 2021 were identified. Demographics and surgical characteristics were collected through a query search and manual chart review.

Relating preoperative MCS-12 to microdiscectomy outcomes.

Purpose: To determine the impact of poor mental health on patient-reported and surgical outcomes after microdiscectomy.

Methods: Patients ≥ 18 years who underwent a single-level lumbar microdiscectomy from 2014 to 2021 at a single academic institution were retrospectively identified. Patient-reported outcomes (PROMs) were collected at preoperative, three-month, and one-year postoperative time points.

Impact of Weekday on Short-term Surgical Outcomes After Lumbar Fusion Surgery.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether weekday lumbar spine fusion surgery has an impact on surgical and inpatient physical therapy (PT) outcomes.

Summary Of Background Data: Timing of surgery has been implicated as a factor that may impact outcomes after spine surgery.

Radiology Reports Do Not Accurately Portray the Severity of Cervical Neural Foraminal Stenosis.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Objective: (1) To compare cervical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiology reports to a validated grading system for cervical foraminal stenosis (FS) and (2) to evaluate whether the severity of cervical neural FS on MRI correlates to motor weakness or patient-reported outcomes.

Background: Radiology reports of cervical spine MRI are often reviewed to assess the degree of neural FS.