Single-level spinal fusions saw similar patient-reported outcomes after a year at an orthopedic specialty hospital and a tertiary referral center, according to a study in the December 2024 issue of The Spine Journal.
Six notes:
1. Researchers assessed adult patients who had primary, elective single-level posterior lumbar decompression and fusion between January 2014 and December 2021 at both settings.
2. A total of 288 patients were included; 205 at a tertiary hospital and 83 at an orthopedic specialty hospital.
3. Average length of stay was shorter at the orthopedic specialty hospital, but there wasn't a difference in discharge disposition or 90-day readmission rates between the types of hospitals.
4. At six months post-surgery, the specialty hospital patients were associated with higher physical component summaries.
5. After one year, the location of surgery didn't show any significant associations with patient reported outcomes such as the Oswestry Disability Index, visual analogue back and leg scores and mental component summary.
6. The study concluded, "To our knowledge, this is one of the largest studies investigating PROMs at OSH versus TRCs for single-level lumbar fusions. We demonstrated that at 1-year follow-up, there is not a significant difference in PROM improvement between patients who undergo surgery at a TRC and patients who do so at an OSH."