A new study published in Spine examined the risk factors for postoperative hematoma that required reoperation among patients who underwent single-level lumbar fusion.
The study authors examined data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program for people who underwent single-level lumbar fusion from 2012 to 2013. There were 5,280 patients included in the study and 27 developed postoperative hematoma that required reoperation.
The factors associated with heightened incidence for postoperative hematoma were:
1. Smoking (1 percent, vs. 0.4 percent for non-smokers)
2. Bleeding disorder diagnosis (3.8 percent, compared to 0.5 percent for non-bleeding disorder patients)
The adjusted odds ratio for hematoma associated with smoking was 3.34 and with bleeding disorders was 10.2, according to a multivariate regression analysis.
"Intervention programs targeting patients with these risk factors are needed to reduce their excess risk of postoperative hematoma," concluded the study authors.