A new study published in The Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques examines dural tear rate among patients undergoing cervical spine surgery.
The clinical data was gathered from the U.S. Nationwide Inpatient Sample for 2009. The patients included underwent cervical spine surgery and were divided into those with dural tears and those without.
There were 190,021 patients included in the study. Here are seven things to know:
1. The rate of dural tears was 0.45 percent of patients, or 855 out of 190,021.
2. The significant risk factors for dural tears were:
• Myelopathy and ossification of the posterior longitundinal ligament
• Posterior approach
• Anterior and posterior approach
• Insurance status
3. Patients with dural tears had significantly higher overall in-hospital complications. Around 21 percent of the patients with dural tears had in-hospital complications, compared with 7.3 percent who did not.
4. The patients with dural tears stayed in the hospital for an average of six days, compared with 3.2 days for patients without dural tears.
5. Around 66.3 percent of patients with dural tears were discharged home routinely, compared with 83.9 percent of patients without dural tears.
6. There were higher total hospital costs — $96,424 — for patients with dural tears, compared to $62,416 for patients without dural tears.
7. The patients with dural tears had similar in-hospital mortality rates as the patients without dural tears.