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Adverse events commonly seen after surgery for vertebral osteomyelitis
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In one of the first studies to longitudinally detail neurological complications, pain and reoperation after surgery for vertebral osteomyelitis, researchers found neurologic status and pain scores both improved, but 60% of patients experienced an adverse event postoperatively.
Researchers included 50 patients who underwent surgery for vertebral osteomyelitis (VO) at a single tertiary institution in the consecutive retrospective cohort study. The researchers evaluated Modified McCormick Scale (MMS) scores as the primary outcome at final follow-up. The median length of follow-up was 18 months.
Patients had a mean length of stay of 11 days, and 48% experienced a short-term postoperative complication, with the most common being wound infection and instrumentation failure.
The MMS scores saw a statistically significant improvement in the cohort at 12 months postoperatively and VAS also improved by 3 months, according to researchers. At 6 months postoperatively, seven patients had a new neurologic deficit and six patients had residual deficits.
“A statistically significant improvement was ultimately observed at 12 [months] and 24 months postoperatively. This mean improvement was, however, relatively small (0.35 on MMS scale), and 54% of patients experienced no change in MMS, whereas only 34% improved. In contrast, the mean improvement in VAS was more robust and clinically significant (3.4). For VAS, a statistically significant improvement was first observed at 3 months postoperatively and continued to decrease,” researchers wrote in the study.
However, all-cause adverse events, such as death, neurologic complications and reoperation, occurred in 60% of the cohort at 24-months follow-up. Researchers noted this was likely due to the advanced stage of disease that qualified the patient for surgery.
Disclosure: Researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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