Early Medical Complications and Delayed Discharge after Spinopelvic Fusion: A Comparative Analysis of 887 NSQIP Cases from 2006 to 2016.

INTRODUCTION: The effect of pelvic fixation on postoperative medical complications, blood transfusion, length of hospital stay, and discharge disposition is poorly understood. Determining factors that predispose patients to increased complications after spinopelvic fusion will help surgeons to plan these complex procedures and optimize patients preoperatively. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the ACS-NSQIP database between 2006 and 2016 of patients who underwent lumbar fusion with and without spinopelvic fixation. Data regarding demographics, complications, hospital stay, and discharge disposition were collected. RESULTS: A total of 57,417 (98.5%) cases of lumbar fusion without spinopelvic fixation (LF) and 887 (1.5%) cases of lumbar fusion with spinopelvic fixation (SPF) were analyzed. The transfusion rate in the SPF group was 59.3% vs 13% in the LF group (p < 0.001). The mean length of stay (LOS) and discharge to skilled nursing facility (SNF) were significantly different (LOS: SPF 6.5 days vs LF 3.5 days p < 0.001; SNF: SPF 21.3% vs LF 10.4% p < 0.001). After controlling for demographic differences, the overall complication rates were not significantly different between the groups (p = 0.531). The odds ratio for transfusion in the SPF group was 2.9 (p < 0.001). The odds ratio for increased LOS and increased care discharge disposition were elevated in the SPF group (LOS OR: 1.3, p < 0.012, Discharge disposition OR: 1.8, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who underwent SPF had increased complications, transfusion rate, LOS, and discharge to SNF or subacute rehab facilities as compared with patients who underwent LF. SPF remains an effective technique for achieving lumbosacral arthrodesis. Surgeons should consider the implications of the associated complication profile for SPF and the value of preoperative optimization in a select cohort of patients.

Failure to extubate and delayed reintubation in elective lumbar fusion: An analysis of 57,677 cases.

OBJECTIVES: There is a scarcity of literature exploring the consequences of Failure To Extubate (FTE) and Delayed Reintubation (DRI) in spine surgery. While it is reasonable to believe that patients who FTE or undergo DRI after Posterior Lumbar Fusion (PLF) and Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) are at risk for graver outcomes, there is minimal data to explicitly support that. The goal of this study was to investigate the morbidity and mortality associated with FTE and DRI after lumbar spine surgery in a large pool of patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective multicenter study of patients that underwent elective posterior lumbar fusion (PLF) and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database from 2006 to 2016. We excluded patients with disseminated cancer, metastatic disease to the neural axis, patient with spinal epidural abscess, and patients with ventilator dependency prior to the operation. RESULTS: 57,677 patients from 2006 to 2016 were identified; 55 patients (0.1 %) had FTE and 262 patients (0.46 %) had DRI. The incidence of pneumonia was 27.2-fold greater in the FTE group and septic shock was 63.5-fold greater. All complications listed below are significance to p < 0.001. Deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction and cardiac arrest were respectively, 10.4-, 12.2-, 22.8-, and 45.5- fold greater in the FTE group. Overall complication rate differed significantly between the two groups and were 9.8-fold greater in the FTE group. FTE was associated with increased, length of stay and all complications except DVT and pulmonary embolism. FTE was profoundly associated with severe complications (OR 13.0, 95 % CI 7.2-23.5) and mortality (OR = 21.5, CI = 7.5-61.0). The DRI group had a significantly higher morbidity (OR = 71.0, CI = 44.1-114.4), including overall complication (OR = 21.2, CI = 16.0-28.0) and severe complications (OR = 34.4, CI = 26.1-45.3). The DRI group had significantly higher rates of pneumonia (OR = 37.0), DVT (OR = 9.6) and pulmonary embolism (OR = 7.0), septic shock (OR = 60.5), myocardial infarction (OR = 32.1,) and cardiac arrest (OR = 236.4). CONCLUSION: FTE and DRI were highly predictive of morbidity and mortality. Overall, investigations of the effects of FTE and DRI following spine procedures are lacking. This large multi-center national database review is one of the first to provide insight into the consequences of FTE and DRI in lumbar fusion cases. Future investigation into the consequences and predictors of FTE and DRI in spine surgery are required.

Spinal cord ischemia/infarct after cauda equina syndrome from disc herniation - A case study and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord infarction is rare and occurs in 12/100,000; it represents 0.3%-2% of central nervous system infarcts. Here, we present a patient who developed recurrent bilateral lower extremity paraplegia secondary to spinal cord infarction 1 day after a successful L4-5 microdiscectomy in a patient who originally presented with a cauda equina syndrome. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 56-year-old patient presented with an acute cauda equina syndrome characterized by severe lower back pain, a right foot drop, saddle anesthesia, and acute urinary retention. When the lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a large right paracentral lumbar disc herniation at the L4-L5 level, the patient underwent an emergency minimally invasive right-sided L4-5 discectomy. Immediately, postoperatively, the patient regained normal function. However, 1 day later, while having a bowel movement, he immediately developed the recurrent paraplegia. The new lumbar MRI revealed acute ischemia and an infarct involving the distal conus medullaris. Further, workup was negative for a spinal cord vascular malformation, thus leaving an inflammatory postsurgical vasculitis as the primary etiology of delayed the conus medullaris infarction. CONCLUSIONS: Acute neurologic deterioration after spinal surgery which does not neurologically correlate with the operative level or procedure performed should prompt the performance of follow-up MR studies of the neuraxis to rule out other etiologies, including vascular lesions versus infarctions, as causes of new neurological deficits.

Thrombolytic therapy for acute stroke in late pregnancy with intra-arterial recombinant tissue plasminogen activator.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The most common presentation of ischemic stroke related to pregnancy is arterial occlusion, occurring during the third trimester or postpartum. The authors present the first successful administration of intra-arterial cerebral tissue plasminogen activator to treat an embolic cerebral vascular accident in a 37-week parturient resulting in complete recovery of neurological function. METHODS: The patient presented with left hemiplegia, left-sided neglect, and aphasia. Right internal carotid artery cerebral angiogram showed occlusion of the mid-M1 segment of the middle cerebral artery (MCA). After 15 mg of tissue plasminogen activator was administered via intra-arterial route, there was greatly improved retrograde flow through the posterior communication artery and the MCA territory. RESULTS: A reduction in size of the MCA occlusion was noted with improvement of antegrade flow through the MCA. Three days after the procedure, the patient was induced successfully and delivered a healthy infant vaginally. CONCLUSIONS: This report describes the use of intra-arterial tissue plasminogen activator in the setting of stroke in late pregnancy.

Challenges facing the anesthesiologist in the emergency department.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review focuses on developments in airway management and concious sedation/analgesic techniques employed by anesthesiologists in the emergency department. RECENT FINDINGS: Emergency medicine physicians routinely employ airway devices and techniques that were previously reserved for anesthesiologists. An understanding of the uses and limitations of these devices are essential for successful outcomes. Anesthesiologists responding to the emergency department may be faced with soiled or traumatized airways. The use of newer devices in cervical trauma and the difficult airway is reviewed. Consious sedation in the emergency department is also reviewed. There are no published recommendations demonstrating the advantage of specific agents for sedation in the emergency department. A wide variety of medications and techniques are currently being employed. Studies indicate that the incidence of adverse effects from these agents range from less than 1% to almost 30%. Various organizations have published guidelines detailing the appropriate protocols and equipment that must be present in the emergency department to monitor patients undergoing conscious sedation. These recommendations have not been universally implemented, and several recent studies suggest that a substantial number of emergency departments may have major deficiencies. SUMMARY: The consultant anesthesiologist responding to a critical airway may face a variety of challenges, including traumatized or soiled airways, patients with cervical spine fractures, and patients who have undergone sedation techniques that may have progressed to deep and general anesthesia. Anesthesiologists may also face the challenge of responding to these emergent situations without all the equipment or adequately trained support staff necessary to handle those emergencies safely.

Predictors of inotropic support during weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass in coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.

Early or prophylactic inotropic drug administration is occasionally required to facilitate separation from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in cardiac surgery. However, it is not without untoward effects and should be conducted on the basis of rational criteria. The purpose of our study was to clarify variables associated with the requirement for inotropic support during separation from CPB and to testify whether pre-CPB left ventricular (LV) function, as evaluated by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), is one of the significant variables. Clinical profile data and TEE findings were retrospectively analyzed for 91 patients who had received elective primary isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. Post-CPB inotropic drug administration initiated prior to aortic decannulation was considered inotropic support for terminating CPB. Stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis identified pre-CPB LV regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMA), NYHA class, age, and duration of CPB (in order of significance) as factors associated with inotropic support for discontinuing CPB. Pre-CPB LV enddiastolic area or fractional area change was not a significant variable in the multivariate model. Our result suggests that evaluation of pre-CPB LV RWMA is useful in predicting the need of inotropic intervention during separation from CPB in patients undergoing CABG surgery.