Worker's compensation status and outcomes following anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF): prospective observational study.

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Worker's compensation status and outcomes following anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF): prospective observational study.

World Neurosurg. 2017 Apr 27;:

Authors: Phan K, Davies S, Rao PJ, Mobbs RJ

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Anterior lumbar-interbody fusion (ALIF) is a common performed procedure for degenerative spinal disorders with reasonable clinical and safety outcomes, although there is limited evidence regarding the impact of ALIF in patients receiving worker's compensation (WC) compared to those without. The aim of our study is to identify whether WC status affects the clinical outcome and rates of complication following ALIF surgery in a prospective cohort.
METHODS: 114 consecutive patients undergoing ALIF surgery from 2012-2014 were prospectively followed. Patients were categorized into 2 groups: those with worker's compensation (WC) (n=24) and those without (n=90). Patients were evaluated preoperative and postoperatively. Outcome measures included Short Form-12 (SF-12), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), surgical complications, and subsidence.
RESULTS: In terms of baseline traits, the WC group had a significantly higher proportion of class III/IV obesity patients, were younger (46.3 vs 60.2 years) compared to non-WC. There were no significant differences in fusion rates, preoperative or postoperative disc height. No significant differences was found for hospital stay, blood loss or operation duration. Similar rates of complications was found between WC versus non-WC cohorts. No significant difference was noted in clinical improvement between the two cohorts with SF-12 PCS, SF-12 MCS or ODI (p=0.232). No significant difference was found in proportion of patients achieving minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for SF-12 PCS/MCS or ODI.
CONCLUSIONS: In our prospective cohort, there were no significant differences found between WC versus non-WC patients in terms of fusion rates, complications, clinical outcomes, or proportion of patients achieving MCID.

PMID: 28457926 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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