Summary of the findings of studies assessing risk factors for ICU admission and LOS after spine surgery.
| Study | No. of Patients | Procedure | Outcome |
| Kay et al, 20166 | 808 | Laminectomy, with or without fusion | Blood loss, operative time, heart disease, age, and female gender were determined to be risk factors for ICU admission following spine surgery. Hypertension, body mass index, and diabetes did not reach significance. |
| Harris et al, 20019 | 109 | Anterior or posterior cervical spine surgery | Diabetes mellitus (P < 0.002), hypertension (P < 0.02), lung disease (P < 0.03), and heart disease (P < 0.05) were linked to an increased risk of ICU admission. |
| Adogwa et al, 201810 | 293 | Spine decompression and fusion | Chronic kidney disease was associated with an increased rate of ICU admission (P = 0.04). |
| Cloney et al, 201911 | 6869 | Spinal fusion | Bleeding disorders (P = 0.028), comorbid disease burden (P < 0.001), male gender (P < 0.001), and BMI (P = 0.027) were patient-related variables correlated to ICU admission following spine surgery. Transfusions (P < 0.001), lumbar procedures (P < 0.001), corpectomies (P = 0.007), fracture repairs (P < 0.001), osteotomies (P = 0.006), blood loss (P = 0.009), and operative time greater than 4 h (P < 0.001) were medical and surgical factors predictive of the need for ICU management. |
| Daubs et al, 201612 | 65 | Pediatric substraction osteotomy | The occurrence of a major complication increased the length of ICU stay. |
| Raad et al, 201813 | 425 | Adult spinal deformity surgery | Preoperative opioid use was a risk factor for increased ICU LOS (P = 0.004). |
| Line et al, 202214 | 261 | Adult spinal deformity surgery | Opioid users were more likely to experience longer ICU stays than patients who were not opioid users (P = 0.0065). |
| Nahtomi-Shick et al, 200115 | 103 | Spinal decompression without or with fusion and/or instrumentation and other procedures | Age, platelet, and crystalloid administration were predictive of length of ICU stay (P = 0.000). |
| Martini et al, 202116 | 1124 | Posterior cervical discectomy and fusion | Primary posterior cervical discectomy and fusion was associated with an increased rate of ICU admission compared with the revision procedure (P = 0.0005). |
| Myers et al, 202117 | 465 | Spinal fracture surgery | Neurosurgical management of spine fractures was linked to a greater risk of the need for intensive care compared with orthopedic management (P = 0.04). |
| Hartin et al, 201318 | 364 | Lumbar and thoracic fusion surgery | The fusion risk score was an effective indicator of ICU admission, blood loss, and operative time (P < 0.0001). |
| Deogaonkar et al, 201819 | 242 | Lumbar and thoracic fusion surgery | The fusion risk score was an effective indicator of ICU admission (P < 0.01), blood loss (P < 0.001), and operative time (P < 0.001). |
| Howe et al, 201120 | 103 | Spinal fusion | Estimated blood loss (P < 0.001) and staged procedures (P < 0.001) were correlated with ICU LOS. Gender, operative time, and procedure invasiveness did not correlate with any outcome. |
| Lenga et al, 202221 | 416 | Decompression, with or without fusion | Instrumentation increased the risk for a protracted ICU LOS (P < 0.001). |
Abbreviations: ICU, intensive care unit; LOS, length of stay.