The impact of osteoporosis on adult deformity surgery outcomes in Medicare patients

Abstract

Objective: To identify the impact of osteoporosis (OS) on postoperative outcomes in Medicare patients undergoing ASD surgery.

Background: Patients with OP and advanced age experience higher than average rates of ASD. However, poor bone density could undermine the durability of a deformity correction.

Methods: We queried the MarketScan Medicare Supplemental database to identify patients Medicare patients who underwent ASD surgery from 2007 to 2016.

Results: A total of 2564 patients met the inclusion criteria of this study, of whom n = 971 (61.0%) were diagnosed with osteoporosis. Patients with OP had a similar 90-day postoperative complication rates (OP: 54.6% vs. non-OP: 49.2%, p = 0.0076, not significant after multivariate regression correction). This was primarily driven by posthemorrhagic anemia (37.6% in OP, vs. 33.1% in non-OP). Rates of revision surgery were similar at 90 days (non-OP 15.0%, OP 16.8%), but by 2 years, OP patients had a significantly higher reoperation rate (30.4% vs. 22.9%, p < 0.0001). In multivariate regression analysis, OP increased odds for revision surgery at 1 year (OR 1.4) and 2 years (OR 1.5) following surgery (all p < 0.05). OP was also an independent predictor of readmission at all time points (90 days, OR 1.3, p < 0.005).

Conclusion: Medicare patients with OP had elevated rates of complications, reoperations, and outpatient costs after undergoing primary ASD surgery.

Keywords: Database; Deformity; Osteoporosis; Outcomes; Spine surgery.