Cervical Spine Decompression and Fusion Outcomes in Trauma Patients Actively Receiving Anticoagulation Treatment for Cerebrovascular Injury: A Retrospective Comparative Study.

BACKGROUND: Cervical spine blunt trauma patients with the presence of a cerebrovascular injury may be given initiation of heparin anticoagulation treatment prior to necessary surgical stabilization. Literature regarding the safety and efficacy of these procedures while a patient is on active anticoagulation is limited, requiring further investigation. The primary research question for this study is: Can cervical spine decompression and fusion in the context of a blunt cerebrovascular injury and anticoagulation therapy be completed safely? To accomplish this a comparison of outcomes and perioperative complications was made to a control group. METHODS: A total of 63 trauma patients requiring cervical spine decompression and fusion from 2013 to 2015 were identified at our North American level 1 trauma center. Evaluation of patient injury data, bleeding events, postoperative infections, and neurologic outcomes was collected from chart review. The American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grading system was used to measure change in postoperative neurologic outcomes. RESULTS: Of 63 patients, 14 had a concomitant cerebrovascular injury that required perioperative anticoagulation treatment. In the 14 patients receiving anticoagulation, 11 had anterior and 3 had posterior stabilization. A total of 2 patients experienced a complication (pneumonia and hardware failure), but neither was related to anticoagulation. An elevated prothrombin time value was noted postoperatively in 1 patient, but with no adverse outcome. No bleeding or thrombotic events, surgical site infection, or neurologic deterioration occurred. The difference in postoperative ASIA grades between groups was not significantly different (P = .57). CONCLUSIONS: The operative cohort receiving anticoagulation therapy did not demonstrate an increase affinity for perioperative complications or a decline in ASIA scores postoperatively when compared to a control cohort. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Patients with a cerebrovascular injury receiving anticoagulation treatment can undergo safe and successful cervical spine stabilization procedures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic level III.

Impact of venous thromboembolism chemoprophylaxis on postoperative hemorrhage following operative stabilization of spine fractures.

BACKGROUND: Prophylactic anticoagulation may decrease the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with spine fractures following blunt trauma but comes with the threat of postoperative bleeding in patients requiring stabilization of these fractures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of preoperative anticoagulation on VTE and bleeding complications in patients with blunt spine fractures requiring operative stabilization. METHODS: All patients with blunt spine fractures requiring operative stabilization over a 6-year period were identified. Patients with a hospital stay of less than 48 hours or missing data were excluded. Patients were stratified by age; severity of shock, spinal cord injury, fracture location, injury severity; and timing and duration of anticoagulation. Outcomes included bleeding complications (wound hematoma/infection and development of epidural hematoma) and VTE (pulmonary embolism and deep venous thrombosis). Outcomes were evaluated to determine risk factors for bleeding complications and VTE in the management of operative spine fractures. RESULTS: Seven hundred five patients were identified: 355 patients received one dose or more of preoperative anticoagulation, and 350 did not receive preoperative anticoagulation. Seventy-two percent were male, with a mean injury severity score and Glasgow Coma Scale score of 21 and 14, respectively. Bleeding complications occurred in 18 patients (2.6%), and 20 patients (2.8%) had VTE. Patients with VTE were more severely injured (Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13 vs 15, p ≤ 0.001 and injury severity score of 27 vs 18, p = 0.008). Despite longer time to mobilization (4 vs 2 days, p < 0.001), patients who received 50% or more of their scheduled preoperative doses had fewer episodes of pulmonary embolism (0.4% vs 2.2%, p < 0.05), with no difference in bleeding complications (2.1% vs 2.9%, p = 0.63) compared to patients who received either no preoperative anticoagulation or less than 50% of their scheduled preoperative doses. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative anticoagulation in patients with operative spine fractures reduced the risk of pulmonary embolism without increasing bleeding complications. Preoperative anticoagulation is both safe and beneficial in patients with operative spine fractures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic study, level IV.

A meta-analysis of spinal surgical site infection and vancomycin powder.

OBJECT: Surgical site infection (SSI) is a serious and costly complication of spinal surgery. There have been several conflicting reports on the use of intrawound vancomycin powder in decreasing SSI in spine surgery. The purpose of this study is to answer the question: "Does intrawound vancomycin powder reduce the rate of SSIs in spine surgery?" METHODS: A comprehensive search of multiple electronic databases and bibliographies was conducted to identify clinical studies that evaluated the rates of SSI with and without the use of intrawound vancomycin powder in spine surgery. Independent reviewers extracted data and graded the quality of each paper that met inclusion criteria. A random effects meta-analysis was then performed. RESULTS: The search identified 9 retrospective cohort studies (Level III evidence) and 1 randomized controlled trial (Level II evidence). There were 2574 cases and 106 infections in the control group (4.1%) and 2518 cases and 33 infections (1.3%) in the treatment group, yielding a pooled absolute risk reduction and relative risk reduction of 2.8% and 68%, respectively. The meta-analysis revealed the use of vancomycin powder to be protective in preventing SSI (relative risk = 0.34, 95% confidence interval 0.17-0.66, p = 0.021). The number needed to treat to prevent 1 SSI was 36. A subgroup analysis found that patients who had implants had a reduced risk of SSI with vancomycin powder (p = 0.023), compared with those who had noninstrumented spinal operations (p = 0.226). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis suggests that the use of vancomycin powder may be protective against SSI in open spinal surgery; however, the exact population in which it should be used is not clear. This benefit may be most appreciated in higher-risk populations or in facilities with a high baseline rate of infection.