Efficacy of an Opioid-Sparing Perioperative Multimodal Analgesia Protocol on Posterior Lumbar Fusion in a Hispanic Population: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

INTRODUCTION: Posterior lumbar fusion surgery has become more common amid an aging population, with degenerative disease as its most common indication. Historically, postoperative pain control for spine surgery has relied on opioids. However, opioid use is associated with adverse effects such as dependence, respiratory depression, and altered cognition. Our study aimed to determine whether an opioid-sparing multimodal analgesia regimen (ketorolac, orphenadrine, and gabapentin) could be a viable alternative to diminish opioid use compared with a standard opioid-based regimen in Hispanic patients undergoing posterior lumbar spinal fusion. METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial of Hispanic patients scheduled to undergo elective posterior spinal fusion. Inclusion criteria included age 30 to 85 years, Hispanic ethnicity, lumbar stenosis between L1 and S1, elective posterior spinal fusion with instrumentation, American Society of Anesthesiologists Score <2, and consent to participate in the study. Patients were randomized into two groups, an experimental multimodal analgesia and control (opioid-based) treatment groups, and outcomes such as morphine milligram equivalents used, visual analog scale score, and length of hospital stay were compared between the groups. RESULTS: The MMA experimental group used significantly lower amounts of opioid (measured with morphine milligram equivalent) than the opioid-based group during the 12-hour and 24-hour postoperative periods ( P -value = 0.023 and P -value = 0.033, respectively). No statistically significant difference was observed in opioid use in the 48-hour postoperative period between both groups ( P -value = 0.066). The MMA group had significantly lower VAS scores reported at the 12-hour, 24-hour, and 48-hour postoperative periods compared with the opioid-based group ( P -values = 0.016, 0.020, and 0.020, respectively). No difference was observed in the length of hospital stay between groups ( P -value = 0.169). DISCUSSION: Implementing an MMA protocol in Hispanic patients undergoing posterior lumbar fusion resulted in decreased overall opioid use and decreased pain intensity compared with the opioid-based group. MMA is an effective alternative for pain control in patients who want to avoid opioid use. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Identifier: NCT05413902.

Complete Endoscopic Resection of an Osteoid Osteoma in the Body of a Thoracic Vertebra: A Case Report.

CASE: A 29-year-old man presented nontraumatic diffuse thoracic pain. Magnetic resonance imaging of the spine showed a cortical lesion with peripheral hyperintensity, a central sclerotic hypointense nidus, and surrounding paraspinal inflammatory changes at the T3 vertebral body. Clinical and radiologic findings were consistent with an osteoid osteoma. The patient successfully underwent an endoscopic partial corpectomy and mass resection. At the 6-month follow-up, radiographs showed complete tumor resolution. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic resection is an adequate and minimally invasive technique for the complete resection of osteoid osteomas.

Associated factors of patients with spinal stenosis who undergo reoperation after a posterior lumbar spinal fusion in a Hispanic-American population.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the associated factors of patients with LSS who undergo reoperation after a PLSF in a Hispanic-American population. METHODS: A retrospective single-center review was performed from all non-age-related Hispanic-Americans with LSS who underwent one or two-level PLSF from 2008 to 2018. Baseline characteristics were analyzed between the reoperation and no-reoperation group using a bivariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Out of 425 patients who underwent PLSF, 38 patients underwent reoperation. At a two-year follow-up, the reoperation rate was 6.1% (26/425), mostly due to pseudoarthrosis (39.5%), recurrent stenosis (26.3%), new condition (15.8%), infection (10.5%), hematoma (5.3%), and dural tear (2.6%). Patients who underwent reoperation were more likely to have a preoperative history of epidural steroid injection (ESI) (OR 5.18, P = 0.009), four or more comorbidities (OR 2.69, P = 0.028), and operated only with a posterolateral fusion without intervertebral fusion (OR 2.15, P = 0.032). Finally, the multivariable analysis showed that ESI was the only independent associated factor in patients who underwent reoperation after a PLSF in our group. CONCLUSION: Among this population who underwent surgery, a reoperation rate at two years of follow-up was less than ten percent. Our study did not find any associated factor inherent to Hispanic-Americans, as ethnic group, who were reoperated after LSS.

The Use of Bone Morphogenetic Protein in Spinal Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion: Our Experience.

OBJECTIVE: Since its introduction and FDA approval, rhBMP-2 has been adopted by spine surgeons as a substitute for ICBG in numerous spinal fusion techniques. As broad clinical use increased, reports on potential complications associated with rhBMP-2 also increased. We provide our experience with TLIF using rhBMP-2 or ICBG in an entirely Hispanic population. METHODS: This was a 2-year retrospective study of 67 patients, with 26 in the rhBMP-2 group and 41 in the ICBG group, who underwent TLIF. Pertinent information was obtained through review of the medical records documenting complications, intraoperative times, and EBL, among other things. RESULTS: There were 28 post-operative complications with 15 (53.6%) in the ICBG group and 13 (46.4%) in the rhBMP-2 group. The average EBL was 572.3 mL (SD: 411.8) in the ICBG group and 397.9 mL (SD: 312.2) in the rhBMP-2 group. The average intraoperative time was 243.1 minutes (SD: 79.5) in the ICBG group and 226.5 minutes (SD: 64.7) in the rhBMP-2 group. Fifty-two patients underwent open TLIF and 15 patients underwent MI TLIF. The average EBL was 571.2 mL (SD: 375.3) in the open TLIF group and 228.3 mL (SD: 299.3) in the MI-TLIF group. The average intraoperative time was 241.0 minutes (SD: 76.0) for patients in the open TLIF group and 218.8 minutes (SD: 65.0) for those in the MI-TLIF group. There were no new cancer events at any of the 2-year follow-up visits. RESULTS: Our results suggest that the safety profile of rhBMP-2 may be inferior to that of ICBG, rejecting the possibility of ICBG being replaced by rhBMP-2 as the gold standard for spinal fusion.