Minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusions have grown in popularity since 2015, according to a study in the April issue of Spine.
Researchers evaluated 11,217 SI joint fusions that took place from 2015 to 2020.
Four things to know:
1. There was a "clear increase" in the number of minimally invasive SI joint fusions from 2015 to 2020. Sixty-two percent of SI joint fusions done in 2015 were minimally invasive, while 86.6% of cases were minimally invasive in 2020.
2. Independent predictors of minimally invasive procedures instead of open included older age and higher Elixhauser-Comorbidity Index scores.
3. Geographic variation highlighted differences in adoption for minimally invasive SI joint fusion, the study found. The odds ratio was higher in the Western U.S. relative to the south,
4. Ninety-day adverse events were lower for patients who had minimally invasive SI joint fusion compared to open SI joint fusion.