• Aladine A Elsamadicy, Owoicho Adogwa, Amanda Sergesketter, Cassie Hobbs, Shay Behrens, Ankit I Mehta, Raul A Vasquez, Joseph Cheng, Carlos A Bagley, and Isaac O Karikari.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
• World Neurosurg. 2017 Mar 1; 99: 418-423.

ObjectiveRacial disparities have been shown to affect surgical outcomes. However, the effect of race on complex spinal fusion outcomes remains understudied. The aim of this study is to determine if patient race affects 30-day complication rates after elective complex spinal fusion (≥5 levels).MethodsThe medical records of 490 adult patients with spinal deformity undergoing elective complex spinal fusion (≥5 levels) at a major academic institution from 2005 to 2015 were reviewed. We identified 52 black patients (11.7%) and 438 white patients (88.3%). Patient demographics, comorbidities, and intraoperative and 30-day postoperative complication and readmission rates were collected. The primary outcome investigated in this study was the rate of 30-day postoperative complications.ResultsPatient demographics and comorbidities were similar between both groups, including age, gender, and body mass index. Median (interquartile range) number of fusion levels and operative time were similar between the cohorts (black, 6.5 [5-9] vs. white, 7 [5-9]; P = 0.55; and black, 307.3 ± 120.2 minutes vs. white, 321.3 ± 135.3 minutes; P = 0.45, respectively). Both cohorts had similar postoperative complications and lengths of hospital stay (black, 7.2 ± 5.4 days vs. white: 6.5 ± 4.9; P = 0.37). There was no significant difference in 30-day readmission between the cohorts (black, 9.6% vs. white, 12.8%; P = 0.66). There were no observed differences in 30-day complication rates, including: pain (P = 0.74), urinary tract infection (P = 0.68), hardware failure (P = 0.36), wound dehiscence (P = 0.29), and drainage (P = 0.86).ConclusionsOur study suggests that there is no difference between races in 30-day complication and readmission rates after complex spinal surgery requiring ≥5 levels of fusion.Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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