A new study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine examines how preoperative opioid use can predict outcomes for patients undergoing transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for symptomatic lumbar degenerative disc disease.
The study authors examined results from 93 patients who underwent either one- or two-level TLIF from 2011 to 2014. Sixty patients reported preoperative opioid use.
The researchers found:
1. The patients who took opioids preoperatively reported lower physical component summary scores, greater disability and higher visual analog scale scores for lower back pain.
2. The patients who didn't take opioids preoperatively reported higher mental component summary scores, but the difference wasn't significant because the opioid group reported significantly lower baseline MCS scores.
3. The preoperative opioids didn't have an affect on the leg or back pain, disability and MCS or PCS scores when the authors conducted a linear regression analysis.
4. The study authors concluded preoperative opioid medication use to control pain was associated with less favorable outcomes.