Introduction: The Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion (LLIF) is an approach for spinal fusion that allows for shorter operative times, decreased blood loss and quicker recovery times after surgery and while the outcome are well studied in the general population, there is paucity in the literature for the outcomes of workers’ compensation (WC) patients after a LLIF. The objective of this study was to investigate the perioperative outcomes of the LLIF approach for patients who utilize WC through the incorporation of propensity match analysis to limit potential confounding variables.
Methods: A total of 211 consecutive patients were identified and a full chart review was completed. All patients then underwent a nearest neighbor propensity score matched analysis. Data collection for analysis included patient demographics, intraoperative outcomes, and postoperative outcomes. Multivariate linear regression was completed to identify potential predictive factors of perioperative surgical outcomes.
Results: Of the 211 patients, 54 (25.6%) of patients had used workers’ compensation, so the propensity matched analysis resulted in a total of 108 patients being matched into 54 pairs. Workers’ compensation status did not significantly predict any perioperative variables, including estimated blood loss (p=0.99), operative time (p=0.53), length of stay (p=0.95), 90-day readmission rate (p=0.33), 90-day reoperation rate (p=0.39). However, a greater number of operative levels was a significant predictor of increased length of stay (b-coefficient, 1.30; 95% Confidence Interval, [0.92,1.68], p< 0.001).
Conclusion : Workers’ Compensation status does not differ in any perioperative outcomes, which confirms that the safety and efficacy of the LLIF approach established in previously published literature is also found in this sub-type of patients.
