A new study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery examines the effect of workers' compensation status for cervical disc arthroplasty.
The researchers examined data on 189 patients who underwent cervical disc arthroplasty; 144 patients received workers' compensation while 45 didn't. The researchers found:
1. The average patient-reported measures were significantly improved one year after surgery for both groups. Workers' compensation and non-workers compensation groups reported similar outcomes.
2. For workers' compensation, the scores include:
• Neck Disability Index: 22.7
• Short Form-36 physical component summary: 8.3
• SF-36 mental component: 7.9
• Neck pain: 3.5
• Arm pain: 2.6
For the non-workers compensation patients, the scores include:
• Neck Disability Index: 25
• Short Form-36 physical component summary: 9.6
• SF-36 mental component: 9.6
• Neck pain: 3.7
• Arm pain: 2.8
3. The rate of operations was similar between the two groups — 7.6 percent received workers' compensation compared with 13.3 percent of those who didn't receive workers compensation.
4. The complication rates were similar between the two groups — 2.8 percent for the workers compensation patients compared with 4.4 percent of the non-workers compensation patients.
5. The return to work rate was 77.7 percent for the workers compensation group and 79.4 percent for the non-workers compensation patients.
6. The patients receiving workers compensation reported significantly more days off — 145.2 days off — compared with the non-workers compensation patients who took off 61.9 days.