• Seokchun Lim, Michael Bazydlo, Mohamed Macki, Sameah Haider, Lonni Schultz, David Nerenz, Hassan Fadel, Jacob Pawloski, Hsueh-Han Yeh, Paul Park, Ilyas Aleem, Jad Khalil, Richard Easton, Jason M Schwalb, Muwaffak Abdulhak, and Victor Chang.
• From the Department of Neurological Surgery, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI.
• Spine. 2022 Feb 1; 47 (3): 220226220-226.

Study DesignThis is a retrospective, cohort analysis of multi-institutional database.ObjectiveThis study was designed to analyze the impact of drain use following elective anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) surgeries.Summary Of Background DataAfter ACDF, a drain is often placed to prevent postoperative hematoma. However, there has been no high quality evidence to support its use with ACDF despite the theoretical benefits and risks of drain placement.MethodsThe Michigan Spine Surgery Improvement Collaborative database was queried to identify all patients undergoing elective ACDF between February 2014 and October 2019. Cases were divided into two cohorts based on drain use. Propensity-score matching was utilized to adjust for inherent differences between the two cohorts. Measured outcomes included surgical site hematoma, length of stay, surgical site infection, dysphagia, home discharge, readmission within 30 days, and unplanned reoperation.ResultsWe identified 7943 patients during the study period. Propensity-score matching yielded 3206 pairs. On univariate analysis of matched cohorts, there were no differences in rate of postoperative hematoma requiring either return to OR or readmission. We noted patients with drains had a higher rate of dysphagia (4.6% vs. 6.3%; P = 0.003) and had longer hospital stay (P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, drain use was associated with significantly increased length of stay (relative risk 1.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13-1.34; P < 0.001). There were no significant differences in other outcomes measured.ConclusionOur analysis demonstrated that drain use is associated with significant longer hospital stay.Level of Evidence: 3.Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

23 keywords...

hide…