We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Neck Pain, Preoperative Opioids, and Functionality After Cervical Fusion.
- Authors
Faour, Mhamad; Anderson, Joshua T; Haas, Arnold R; Percy, Rick; Woods, Stephen T; Ahn, Uri M; Ahn, Nicholas U
- Abstract
The use of opioids among patients with workers' compensation claims is associated with tremendous costs, especially for patients who undergo spinal surgery. This study compared return-to-work rates after single-level cervical fusion for degenerative disk disease between patients who received opioids before surgery and patients who underwent fusion with no previous opioid use. All study subjects qualified for workers' compensation benefits for injuries sustained at work between 1993 and 2011. The study population included 281 subjects who underwent single-level cervical fusion for degenerative disk disease with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, and Current Procedural Terminology code algorithms. The opioid group included 77 subjects who received opioids preoperatively. The control group included 204 subjects who had surgery with no previous opioid use. The primary outcome was meeting return-to-work criteria within 3 years of follow-up after fusion. Secondary outcome measures after surgery, surgical details, and presurgical characteristics for each cohort also were collected. In 36.4% of the opioid group, return-to-work criteria were met compared with 56.4% of the control group. Patients who took opioids were less likely to meet return-to-work criteria compared with the control group (odds ratio, 0.44; 95% confidence interval, 0.26-0.76; P=.0028). Return-to-work rates within the first year after fusion were 24.7% for the opioid group and 45.6% for the control group (P=.0014). Patients who used opioids were absent from work for 255 more days compared with the control group (P=.0001). The use of opioids for management of diskogenic neck pain, with the possibility of surgical intervention, is a negative predictor of successful return to work after fusion in a workers' compensation population. [Orthopedics. 2017; 40(1):25-32.].
- Subjects
CERVICAL vertebrae; THERAPEUTIC use of narcotics; ANALGESICS; EMPLOYMENT reentry; SPINE diseases; NECK pain; SPINAL fusion; SURGICAL complications; WORKERS' compensation; SURGERY
- Publication
Orthopedics, 2017, Vol 40, Issue 1, p25
- ISSN
0147-7447
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.3928/01477447-20161013-02