Abstract
This study was conducted to quantify the incidence of gastrointestinal morbidity and identify risk factors for developing gastrointestinal morbidity following spinal surgery in children.
A retrospective review was conducted on 253 surgical spinal procedures performed over a 5 year period at Starship Children’s Hospital. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify significant risk factors.
Seventy eight (77.9%) percent of the study population developed gastrointestinal morbidity and this significantly prolonged the median post-operative hospital stay (8 days vs. 4 days; p< 0.0001). Emesis (50.6%), paralytic ileus (42.3%) and constipation (22.5%) were the most frequent gastrointestinal morbidities. Significant risk factors for developing gastrointestinal morbidity were fusion surgery, co-morbidities and duration of post-operative opioid use.
The high incidence of gastrointestinal morbidity after paediatric spinal surgery and consequent prolonged hospital stay has clinical implications to both the patient and the institution. Awareness of those with significant risk factors identified by this study could assist in the timely implementation of appropriate treatment.
The abstracts were prepared by Editorial Secretary Jean-Claude Theis. Correspondence should be addressed to NZOA at Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dunedin Hospital, Private Bag 1921, Dunedin, New Zealand.
