Early mobilization after cervical spine surgery can significantly reduce adverse event risks, according to a study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine.
Study authors used Michigan Spine Surgery Improvement Collaborative data to identify 90-day adverse events and their associated risk factors after cervical spine surgery. They analyzed 8,236 cervical spine cases.
The top seven adverse events 90 days after cervical spine surgery included:
- Radicular findings: 11.6 percent
- Readmission: 7.7 percent
- Dysphagia requiring dietary modification: 6.4 percent
- Urinary retention: 4.7 percent
- Urinary tract infection: 2.2 percent
- Surgical site hematoma: 1.1 percent
- Surgical site infection: 0.9 percent
Associated risk factors for dysphagia included anterior approach, fusion procedures and surgery duration. Preoperative ambulation and private insurance were protective factors against readmission.
Increased age and male sex were risk factors for urinary retention, while anterior approach, preoperative ambulation and ambulation the day of surgery were protective. Preoperative ambulation and anterior approach were protective of radicular findings.