Increasing numbers of posterior lumbar fusions
are being performed. The purpose of this study was to identify trends
in demographics, mortality and major complications in patients undergoing
primary posterior lumbar fusion. We accessed data collected for
the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for each year between 1998 and 2008
and analysed trends in the number of lumbar fusions, mean patient
age, comorbidity burden, length of hospital stay, discharge status,
major peri-operative complications and mortality. An estimated 1 288 496
primary posterior lumbar fusion operations were performed between
1998 and 2008 in the United States. The total number of procedures,
mean patient age and comorbidity burden increased over time. Hospital
length of stay decreased, although the in-hospital mortality (adjusted
and unadjusted for changes in length of hospital stay) remained
stable. However, a significant increase was observed in peri-operative
septic, pulmonary and cardiac complications. Although in-hospital mortality
rates did not change over time in the setting of increases in mean
patient age and comorbidity burden, some major peri-operative complications
increased. These trends highlight the need for appropriate peri-operative services
to optimise outcomes in an increasingly morbid and older population
of patients undergoing lumbar fusion.