• Darryl Lau, Matthew R Leach, Khoi D Than, John Ziewacz, Frank La Marca, and Paul Park.
• University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
• Eur Spine J. 2013 Jun 1;22(6):1402-7.

PurposeSurgery for spinal metastasis is often associated with significant morbidity. Despite a number of preoperative scoring systems/scales and identified variables that have been reported to predict complication risk, clinical studies that directly evaluate this issue using multivariate analysis are scarce. The goal of our study was to assess independent predictors of complication after surgery for spinal metastasis.MethodsWe queried electronic medical records to identify a consecutive population of adult patients who underwent surgery for spinal metastasis for the period June 2005 through June 2011. Utilizing multivariate logistic regression, we assessed independent predictors of perioperative and postoperative adverse events.ResultsA total of 106 patients were included in the final analysis. Overall complication rate was 21.7 %. Independent predictors for higher rates of complication were age greater than 40 years [40-65 years had odds ratio (OR) 1.91, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.02-16.78 and >65 years had OR 5.17, 95 % CI 1.54-29.81] and metastatic lesions involving three or more contiguous levels of the spine (OR 2.76, 95 % CI 1.09-9.61).ConclusionsPatients older than 40 years or patients who have metastatic lesions involving three or more contiguous vertebral levels appear to be at higher risk for complication. Patients older than 65 years have the greatest likelihood of complication.

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