What Is the Learning Curve for Lumbar Spine Surgery Under Spinal Anesthesia? 2022

James L West, and Gaetano De Biase, and Mohamad Bydon, and Elird Bojaxhi, and Marvesh Mendhi, and Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, and Kingsley Abode-Iyamah
Department of Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, USA.

Spinal anesthesia (SA) is routinely used in obstetrics and orthopedic surgery but has not been widely adopted in lumbar spine surgery (LSS). One perceived barrier is the learning curve for the neurosurgical and anesthesia team associated with managing a patient in the prone position under SA. A retrospective cohort of 34 LSS cases under SA at our institution was examined. Operative time, corrected operative time per level, and complications were analyzed. The learning curve was assessed using a curve-fit regression analysis. Of patients, 62% were female, with mean (SD) age and body mass index of 60.7 (10.8) years and 29.9 (4.6) kg/m2, respectively. The mean (SD) for each time segment was operating room arrival to incision 35.7 (8.1) minutes, total surgical time 100.4 (35.8) minutes, and procedure finish to operating room exit 3.4 (2.5) minutes. When the times were normalized to procedure type and analyzed sequentially, the mean (SD) slope of all trendlines was 0.003 (0.005) with correlation coefficients of R2 = 0.0002-0.01, indicating no appreciable learning curve. Normalized postanesthesia care unit time was significantly shorter for overnight stay versus same-day discharge (0.64 vs. 1.36, P = 0.0005). Our data demonstrate the lack of a learning curve when SA is implemented in LSS cases by an anesthetic team already familiar with SA techniques for other procedures. Importantly, the surgical team was already familiar with the minimally invasive surgery approaches used in conjunction with SA. This study highlights that the barriers to transitioning to SA for LSS may be fewer than perceived.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008159 Lumbar Vertebrae VERTEBRAE in the region of the lower BACK below the THORACIC VERTEBRAE and above the SACRAL VERTEBRAE. Vertebrae, Lumbar
D008297 Male Males
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000775 Anesthesia, Spinal Procedure in which an anesthetic is injected directly into the spinal cord. Anesthesias, Spinal,Spinal Anesthesia,Spinal Anesthesias
D012189 Retrospective Studies Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons. Retrospective Study,Studies, Retrospective,Study, Retrospective
D013123 Spinal Fusion Operative immobilization or ankylosis of two or more vertebrae by fusion of the vertebral bodies with a short bone graft or often with diskectomy or laminectomy. (From Blauvelt & Nelson, A Manual of Orthopaedic Terminology, 5th ed, p236; Dorland, 28th ed) Spondylodesis,Spondylosyndesis,Fusion, Spinal,Fusions, Spinal,Spinal Fusions,Spondylodeses,Spondylosyndeses
D016896 Treatment Outcome Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series. Rehabilitation Outcome,Treatment Effectiveness,Clinical Effectiveness,Clinical Efficacy,Patient-Relevant Outcome,Treatment Efficacy,Effectiveness, Clinical,Effectiveness, Treatment,Efficacy, Clinical,Efficacy, Treatment,Outcome, Patient-Relevant,Outcome, Rehabilitation,Outcome, Treatment,Outcomes, Patient-Relevant,Patient Relevant Outcome,Patient-Relevant Outcomes
D059032 Learning Curve The course of learning of an individual or a group. It is a measure of performance plotted over time. Curve, Learning,Learning Curves
D019060 Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures Procedures that avoid use of open, invasive surgery in favor of closed or local surgery. These generally involve use of laparoscopic devices and remote-controlled manipulation of instruments with indirect observation of the surgical field through an endoscope or similar device. Minimal Access Surgical Procedures,Minimal Surgical Procedures,Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedure,Surgical Procedures, Minimally Invasive,Minimal Surgical Procedure,Minimally Invasive Surgery,Procedure, Minimal Surgical,Procedures, Minimal Access Surgical,Procedures, Minimal Surgical,Procedures, Minimally Invasive Surgical,Surgical Procedure, Minimal,Surgical Procedures, Minimal,Surgical Procedures, Minimal Access,Minimally Invasive Surgeries,Surgeries, Minimally Invasive,Surgery, Minimally Invasive

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