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This article published in the Journal of Neurosurgery Spine examines the surgical outcomes of workers’ compensation (WC) patients who underwent anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) compared to non-WC patients. The study analyzed data from the Quality Outcomes Database and found that WC patients had worse outcomes after ACDF, including greater residual disability, axial pain, and delayed return to work at one year post-surgery. These negative outcomes persisted even after adjusting for baseline differences between the two groups. The study suggests that further research is needed to understand the impact of WC claims on healthcare delivery in the context of ACDF
Summarised by Mr Mo Akmal – Lead Spinal Surgeon
The London Spine Unit : top treatment hospital in UK
Published article
CONCLUSIONS: WC status was associated with greater 1-year residual disability and axial pain along with delayed return to work, without any difference in quality of life despite having fewer comorbidities and being a younger population. Further studies are needed to determine the societal impact that WC claims have on healthcare delivery in the setting of ACDF.
Lumbar Fusion Surgery Expert. Best Spinal Surgeon UK
J Neurosurg Spine. 2023 Jul 21:1-9. doi: 10.3171/2023.6.SPINE23217. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTOBJECTIVE: Patients with workers’ compensation (WC) claims are reported to demonstrate poorer surgical outcomes after lumbar spine surgery. However, outcomes after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) in WC patients remain debatable. The authors aimed to compare outcomes between a propensity score-matched population of,
J Neurosurg Spine. 2023 Jul 21:1-9. doi: 10.3171/2023.6.SPINE23217. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Patients with workers’ compensation (WC) claims are reported to demonstrate poorer surgical outcomes after lumbar spine surgery. However, outcomes after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) in WC patients remain debatable. The authors aimed to compare outcomes between a propensity score-matched population of WC and non-WC patients who underwent ACDF.
METHODS: Patients who underwent 1- to 4-level ACDF were retrospectively reviewed from the prospectively maintained Quality Outcomes Database (QOD). After propensity score matching, 1-year patient satisfaction, physical disability (Neck Disability Index [NDI]), pain (visual analog scale [VAS]), EQ-5D, and return to work were compared between WC and non-WC cohorts.
RESULTS: A total of 9957 patients were included (9610 non-WC and 347 WC patients). Patients in the WC cohort were significantly younger (50 ± 9.1 vs 56 ± 11.4 years, p < 0.001), less educated, and were more frequently male, non-Caucasian, and active smokers (29.1% vs 18.1%, p < 0.001), with greater baseline VAS and NDI scores and poorer quality of life (p < 0.001). One-year postoperative improvements in VAS, NDI, EQ-5D, and return-to-work rates and satisfaction were all significantly worse for WC compared with non-WC patients. After adjusting for baseline differences via propensity score matching, WC versus non-WC patients continued to demonstrate worse 3- and 12-month VAS neck pain and NDI (p = 0.010), satisfaction (χ2 = 4.03, p = 0.045), and delayed return to work (9.3 vs 5.7 weeks, p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: WC status was associated with greater 1-year residual disability and axial pain along with delayed return to work, without any difference in quality of life despite having fewer comorbidities and being a younger population. Further studies are needed to determine the societal impact that WC claims have on healthcare delivery in the setting of ACDF.
PMID:37503915 | DOI:10.3171/2023.6.SPINE23217
The London Spine Unit : top treatment hospital in UK
Read the original publication:
Effect of workers’ compensation status on pain, disability, quality of life, and return to work after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: a 1-year propensity score-matched analysis
