Enhanced Risk Stratification for Short-Term Complications Following Vertebral Augmentation for Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures.

BACKGROUND

For patients with back pain from osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs), vertebral augmentation remains the most utilized surgical intervention. Previous studies report 30-day readmission and mortality rates of up to 10% and 2%, respectively. These studies, however, have included patients with pathologic fractures and combined patients in different admission settings. We undertook the current study to address such shortcomings, which make risk stratification and appropriate counseling difficult.

METHODS

Four consecutive years of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database were queried. Patients who underwent vertebral augmentation for osteoporotic VCFs were divided into 3 groups: (1) outpatient group (defined as patients with same-day discharge), (2) inpatient group (defined as those who were admitted postoperatively), and (3) preprocedure hospitalized group (defined as those who were already inpatient or were at acute/intermediate care facilities and transferred). Postoperative 30-day complications and readmission rates were compared between different groups and examined using multivariate analyses.

RESULTS

A total of 1023 patients underwent outpatient surgery; 503 were admitted on the day of surgery; and 149 patients were already in-hospital or were transferred from other facility. Mortality rates were 0.68%, 0.60%, and 2.68%, and readmission rates were 6.26%, 6.76%, and 12.8%, for outpatient, inpatient, and preprocedure hospitalization cohorts, respectively. Multivariate analyses identified preprocedure hospitalization as an independent risk factor for urinary tract infection (UTI; OR = 3.98, 95% CI = 1.41-11.20, = 0.028), pneumonia (OR = 19.69, 95% CI = 3.81-101.65, < 0.001), readmission (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.06-3.26, = 0.032), and mortality (OR = 4.49, 95% CI = 1.22-16.53, = 0.024).

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that published rates of complications and mortality are substantially impacted by the cohort of patients who are already hospitalized or transferred from other facilities. Such patients are at a higher risk of UTI, pneumonia, readmission, and mortality. Conversely, we show that a relatively healthy patient being offered outpatient same-day augmentation has a readmission risk 40% lower and a mortality risk 3 times lower than previously reported.