A new study published in Spine examines the readmission rates and risks for elderly patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusions.
The study authors analyzed Medicare data for patients who underwent primary one- or two-level posterolateral lumbar spinal fusion from 2005 to 2012. Most of the surgeries were elective procedures. There were 52,567 patients included in the study.
The researchers found:
1. The readmission rates at each interval after surgery were:
● 30 days: 2.9 percent
● 90 days: 5.3 percent
● One year: 12.5 percent
2. Half of the patients that reported readmissions within 30 days of surgery had a surgical diagnosis; 25.8 percent had wound infections.
3. The factors increasing the risk of readmission among the elderly population after spinal fusion were:
● Chronic pulmonary disease
● Obesity
● Smoking history
4. The medical diagnoses for readmissions were predominantly occurring in the later readmissions, which highlights "the comorbidity burden present in elderly patients."