Smokers report more neck pain, less satisfaction after cervical spine surgery than non-smokers

NEW ORLEANS — Compared to patients who do not smoke, patients who smoke showed less improvement in pain scores and Neck Disability Index scores following cervical spine surgery, according to a presenter at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting, here.

The smokers also had more arm and neck pain vs. the non-smokers in a study conducted by Raul A. Vasquez-Castellanos, MD, and colleagues, which won them the 2015 Samuel Hassenbusch Young Neurosurgeon Award.

Therefore, patients who smoke and are scheduled to undergo cervical spine surgery should strongly consider quitting beforehand to optimize their outcomes, Vasquez-Castellanos noted.

“Despite being a younger population, smoking resulted in lower absolute scores. These patients have less benefits after surgery when compared with non-smokers. This is even after controlling for confounding variables,” he said.

Vasquez-Castellanos and colleagues obtained the smoking status preoperatively for 473 patients included in a prospective, longitudinal registry. They recorded patient reported outcomes at baseline and 1 month, 3 months and 1 year postoperatively.

The patients were then divided into two groups — non-smokers and smokers — so the investigators could compare their outcomes. During the initial evaluation period, 123 patients considered themselves smokers. They showed significantly less improvement in Neck Disability Index scores, neck pain, and SF-12 physical component scores at 12 postoperative months than the non-smokers. In addition, 24% of the smokers reported they had unfulfilled expectations at the 1-year follow up vs. 14% of non-smokers (P < .013). – by Robert Linnehan

Reference:

Vasquez-Castellanos RA, et al. Paper #109. Presented at: Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting; Sept. 26-30, 2015; New Orleans.

Disclosure: Vasquez-Castellanos reports no relevant financial disclosures.