PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - BENJAMIN C. MAYO
AU  - DUSTIN H. MASSEL
AU  - ALEM YACOB
AU  - ANKUR S. NARAIN
AU  - FADY Y. HIJJI
AU  - NATHANIEL W. JENKINS
AU  - JAMES M. PARRISH
AU  - KRISHNA D. MODI
AU  - WILLIAM W. LONG
AU  - NADIA M. HRYNEWYCZ
AU  - THOMAS S. BRUNDAGE
AU  - KERN SINGH
TI  - A Review of Vitamin D in Spinal Surgery: Deficiency Screening, Treatment, and Outcomes
AID  - 10.14444/7059
DP  - 2020 Jun 01
TA  - International Journal of Spine Surgery
PG  - 447--454
VI  - 14
IP  - 3
4099  - http://ijssurgery.com//content/14/3/447.short
4100  - http://ijssurgery.com//content/14/3/447.full
SO  - Int J Spine Surg2020 Jun 01; 14
AB  - In this review, we discuss the demonstrated value of vitamin D in bone maintenance, fracture resistance, spinal health, and spine surgery outcomes. Despite this, the effect of vitamin D levels in spine surgery has not been well described. Through this review of literature, several conclusions were drawn. First, despite the fact that a high number of spine surgery patients are vitamin D deficient, screening is not commonly performed. Second, adequate vitamin D levels will not be achieved in a majority of these patients without supplementation. Last, inadequate vitamin D levels may increase the risk of pseudarthrosis. Given these findings, we suggest that many patients undergoing spinal surgery could be treated with vitamin D supplementation prior to surgery without the need for confirmatory testing for vitamin D deficiency. This is a more cost-effective method than screening all patients. However, future randomized trials and cost-effectiveness analyses are needed to determine the ultimate effects of vitamin D supplementation on clinical morbidity and surgical outcomes.