Surgery Delay Increases Length of Stay in Thoracolumbar Trauma

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The ideal timing from admission of a thoracolumbar spinal trauma patient to the start of surgery at US trauma centers remains a hotly contested area of debate. The effect of surgical latency on patient outcomes in thoracolumbar trauma remains unclear. METHODS All 2013 to 2015 thoracolumbar spinal trauma cases from the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) were analyzed. Patients with unsurvivable spine injury, polytraumas (serious injuries in more than one bodily region), and those discharged within 24 h were excluded. Patients were classified into 3 groups by surgery timing: less than 8 h (early, N = 1699), between 8 and 24 h (normal, N = 946), and over 24 h (delayed, N = 1601). Mortality, length of stay (LOS), and complication rates were compared between groups. Demographic variables and complication rates were compared. Multivariate logistic regression was utilized to determine the specific effect of surgery timing on outcomes. RESULTS Patients with earlier surgery presented with more severe spinal trauma (P < .0001). Patients in the normal surgical timing cohort were most likely to have altered mental status (4.97% vs 3.24%, P = .05), and less likely to suffer from UTI (4.97% vs 3.24%, P = .03). Patients in the delayed cohort were older (46.2 vs 43.7 yr, P = .0003), more likely to have a longer LOS (11.3 vs 10.6 d, P = .02), return to the ICU (2.94% vs 1.29%, P = .001), experience unplanned intubation (2.06% vs 1%, P = .01) and suffer from cardiac arrest (0.53% vs 1.19%, P = .04). Upon multivariate analysis, delayed surgery was an independent risk factor for prolonged LOS (OR: 1.21, 95% CI: 0.56-1.87, P = .0003). CONCLUSION Patients with earlier surgery possessed more severe spinal injury. When adjusting for demographics and severity, no significant difference is seen in mortality between the different surgery times; however, LOS is prolonged in patients with delayed surgery.