Study design:

This was a retrospective cohort study.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of undergoing a prior lumbar procedure on mental health outcomes following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.

Summary of background data:

Revision and reoperations are perceived as risk factors for worse mental health outcomes.

Methods:

A retrospective review of a surgical database was performed for cervical and lumbar procedures. The mental health measures used were: Short Form 12-Item Mental Composite Score (SF-12 MCS) and Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9). Secondary outcomes of interest were Visual Analogue Scale for neck and arm pain, Neck Disability Index, and Short Form 12-Item Physical Composite Score (SF-12 PCS). All outcomes were collected preoperatively and at 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year postoperatively. Minimum clinically important difference (MCID) was calculated using established values. Patients were grouped based on the surgical history of an elective lumbar spine procedure and propensity-matched. Differences in postoperative outcome scores and MCID achievement were evaluated using linear and logistic regression respectively.

Results:

A total of 74 patients were included in this study. Mental health outcomes did not demonstrate significant differences between groups for SF-12 MCS and PHQ-9 for all time points except at 6 weeks for PHQ-9 (P=0.038). MCID achievement was not significantly impacted by surgical history for all outcome measures at all postoperative time points (all P>0.050). The majority of patients achieved an MCID by the 1-year time point for all outcomes for patients without a prior lumbar surgery except for Visual Analogue Scale arm and SF-12 PCS, while those with a surgical history achieved an MCID for all outcomes except SF-12 PCS and PHQ-9.

Conclusions:

Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion patients with a past history of lumbar surgery demonstrated significant improvements in depression, neck and arm pain, disability, and physical function as those without a past lumbar surgical history. Prior surgery also did not impact MCID achievement for all outcomes.