Non-neurologic adverse events after complex adult spinal deformity surgery: results from the prospective, multicenter Scoli-RISK-1 study

Abstract

Introduction: Most studies reporting on complications of complex adult spinal deformities (ASD) surgeries were retrospective in nature without clearly-defined inclusion criteria or validated assessment, and none had specifically focused on non-neurologic adverse events. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the rate and types of non-neurologic adverse events after surgical correction of complex ASD, and to identify risk factors that affect their occurrence, based on a prospective, multicenter study. Material and Methods: The demographic data, medical and surgical details, and occurrence of all non-neurologic adverse events were reviewed in a prospective cohort of 272 patients who had undergone corrective surgeries for complex ASD and enrolled in a multicentre database of the Scoli-RISK-1 study with a minimum follow-up of 2 years. Results: There were 515 non-neurologic adverse events in 184 patients, giving an incidence of 67.6%. 121 (44.5%) patients suffered from more than one adverse event. 300 (58.3%) adverse events occurred within 6 weeks of surgery, and 215 (41.7%) occurred 6 weeks postoperatively. The most frequent non-neurologic adverse events were surgically-related (27.6%), of which implant failure and dural tear were most common. Conclusion: The incidence of non-neurologic adverse events for patients undergoing corrective surgeries for ASD found was 67.6%. These findings complete the earlier report of neurologic complications after ASD surgeries from the Scoli-RISK-1 study. Spinal surgeons now have a full understanding of the comprehensive risk profile for patients undergoing such surgeries.