An article published in Spine examines adverse events, length of stay and readmission rates for spinal fusion using iliac crest bone graft.
The researchers examined 13,927 patients with 820 who received iliac crest bone graft. The data was collected from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project from 2010 to 2012. The researchers found:
1. Patients who received iliac crest bone graft were more likely to have postoperative blood transfusion. Around 11.6 percent of the iliac crest bone graft patients had blood transfusion, compared with 5.5 percent of the remaining patients.
2. The iliac crest bone graft group was also more likely to have extended operative time. Their operative time was 22 minutes more on average than the patients who did not receive iliac bone crest.
3. Longer length of stay at the hospital after the surgical procedure was significantly associated with iliac crest bone graft use.
4. There were no significant differences between the iliac crest bone graft group and the other group in readmission rates.
5. There were no adverse events significantly associated with the patients who received iliac crest bone graft.