The study authors gathered data for 302 patients who underwent surgery for spinal fractures at a Level I trauma center. The study authors found:
1. Forty-two patients reported 47 pulmonary complications. The pulmonary complication rate was 14 percent among the patients studied.
2. The complication breakdown is:
• Pneumonia: 35 patients
• Acute respiratory distress syndrome: 10
• Pulmonary embolism: 2
3. Spinal cord injury was predictive of pulmonary complications, according to the logistic regression. Other factors predictive of pulmonary complications include severe chest injury, male patients and ASA classification.
4. The patients who had pulmonary complications stayed at the hospital for nearly 24 days, compared with 7.7 days for the patients who didn’t have pulmonary complications. The PE patients also stayed longer in the ICU — 19.9 days compared to 3.4 days — and on the ventilator — 13.8 days compared to 1.9 days.
5. The study authors concluded, “Practitioners should be especially vigilant for postoperative complications and associated injuries following upper thoracic spine fractures.”
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