Baseline characteristics of patients (N = 80).
| Characteristics | Value |
| Age, y, mean (SD) (range) | 53.15 (10.73) (30–78) |
| ≥60 y, n (%) | 24 (30%) |
| Gender: female, n (%) | 43 (53.7%) |
| Smokers, n (%) | 28 (35%) |
| Osteoporosis, n (%) | 15 (18.8%) |
| Outcome measure | |
| VAS cervical pain, mean (SD) | 7.15 (2.1) |
| VAS radicular pain, mean (SD) | 7.35 (2) |
| Myelopathy symptoms (Nurick >1), n (%) | 15 (18.75%) |
| NDI, mean (SD) (range) | 40.21 (13.2) (14–80) |
| JOA, mean (SD) | 15.67 (1.47) |
| Symptom duration, mo, median (IQR) | 11.6 (0.4–22.8) |
| Type of spinal fusion, n (%) | |
| Single-level fusion | 43 (53.8%) |
| Multiple-level fusion | 37 (46.2%) |
| C3-C4 | 6 (7.5%) |
| C4-C5 | 11 (13.8%) |
| C5-C6 | 20 (25%) |
| C6-C7 | 8 (10%) |
| C3-C5 | 2 (2.5%) |
| C4-C6 | 3 (3.8%) |
| C5-C7 | 25 (31.3%) |
| C4-C7 | 5 (6.3%) |
| Myelopathic changes on MRI | 21 (26.3%) |
Abbreviations: IQR, interquartile range; JOA, Japanese Orthopedic Association Scale; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; NDI, Neck Disability Index; VAS, visual analog scale.
Note: Statistically significant differences are shown in boldface.
a Evaluation on first postoperative mo; in parentheses, P value of independent samples t test comparing preoperative vs postoperative evaluation.
b Last follow-up evaluation; in parentheses, P value of independent samples t test comparing postoperative vs last follow-up evaluation.