A study published in Spine examines the incidence of venous thromboembolic complications and pulmonary embolism in children undergoing spinal fusion surgery.
Here are five things to know about the study and VTE in spine surgery:
1. Researchers analyzed the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database from 2001 through 2010 to identify pediatric patients who had spinal fusion surgery. Patients who had deep venous thrombosis or PE during the hospital stay were identified.
2. The study found that the incidence of VTE in children varied from 9.6 to 38.5 events per 10,000 spinal fusions; and the incidence of PE varied from 0 to 6 events per 10,000 spinal fusions. There were no in-hospital VTE-associated mortalities. The study also found that VTE incidence was significantly higher in children with congenital scoliosis, syndromic scoliosis/kyphoscoliosis and thoracolumbar fractures than in children with idiopathic scoliosis.
3. The study authors concluded that the incidence of thromboembolic complications in children was approximately 21 events per 10,000 spinal fusions and that PE in children was rare and not associated with fatality.
4. In May, a study published in Spine examined 357,926 patients who underwent either spinal decompression alone or spinal decompression with fusion and found a 1.37 percent VTE rate. According to the study, there was a 1.03 percent VTE rate for patients with structural degenerative diagnoses, compared to 10.7 percent VTE rate for patients with spinal infections. Also, patients undergoing posterior cervical fusion had a higher VTE rate than patients undergoing anterior cervical fusion.
5. Last month, a study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery examined risk factors for venous thromboembolic events after spinal fusion. The study found that the average age of patients who reported VTE was 57.6 years, compared with 52.8 years among those who did not have VTE and that men were more likely than women to have VTE. Additionally, total hospital charges were much higher for patients with VTE. Without VTE, the total hospital charges were $66,823 on average for spinal fusion patients; with VTE, the hospital charges were $207,253.
More Articles on Spine:
Hospital for Special Surgery Names Dr. Todd Albert Surgeon-in-Chief
Costs for SI Joint Disruption, Sacroiliitis About $270M Over 5 Years
The Robotic Difference: How New Technology Could Impact Spine