Incidence and risk factors for acute kidney injury after spine surgery using the RIFLE classification

Incidence and predictors of acute kidney injury after elective surgery for lumbar degenerative disease: A 13-year analysis of the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample

BACKGROUND

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a severe postoperative complication associated with poor clinical outcomes, including the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and death. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and determinants of AKI following elective surgeries for degenerative lumbar spine disease.

METHODS

All patient data were extracted from the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample database. After surgery, AKI's incidence and risk factors were identified for lumbar degenerative disease. ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes defined lumbar spine degenerative disease, fusion, decompression, and AKI. The study cohort was categorized by type of surgery, that is, decompression alone or spinal fusion. Regression analysis was used to identify associations between AKI and risk factors organized by surgery type.

RESULTS

The incidence of AKI after decompression or fusion was 1.1% and 1.8%, respectively. However, the incidence of AKI in the United States is rising. The strongest predictor of AKI was underlying CKD, which was associated with an 9.0- to 12.9-fold more significant risk of AKI than in subjects without comorbid CKD. In this setting, older age, congestive heart failure, anemia, obesity, coagulopathy and hospital-acquired infections were also strong predictors of AKI. In contrast, long-term aspirin/anticoagulant usage was associated with lowered AKI risk.

CONCLUSION

Findings of this study inform risk stratification for AKI and may help to optimize treatment decisions and care planning after elective surgery for lumbar degenerative disease.

The Effect of Modifiable Risk Factors on Postoperative Complications in Lumbar Spine Fusions

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES

The impact of modifiable risk factors (MRFs) on complications, costs, and readmission rates at 30, 90, and 180-days following lumbar spine fusion.

METHODS

Patients with lumbar spine fusions within the 2016-2017 Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD). Patients were stratified by the following MRFs: Alcohol use, tobacco/nicotine use, nutritional malnourishment, dyslipidemia, and primary hypertension. Differences in complications, non-elective readmission rates, costs, and length of stay were compared between MRFs and the non-MRF group. Statistical analysis was conducted using Tukey multiple comparisons of means, 1-way ANOVA, Wald testing, unpaired Welch 2-sample t-tests, multivariate analysis, and predictive modeling.

RESULTS

The final analysis included 297,579 lumbar fusion patients. At 30 and 90 days, patients with nutritional malnutrition, dyslipidemia, and primary hypertension had significantly greater readmission rates than patients without MRFs (all P<0.01). At 180-days, all MRFs had significantly greater readmission rates than the non-MRF group (all P<0.001). Dyslipidemia demonstrated significantly greater rates of myocardial infarction at 90 days compared to all groups (all P<0.02). Nutritional malnutrition was associated with a significantly greater mortality rate than primary hypertension, non-MRF, and tobacco/nicotine use at 90 days (P<0.001) and only tobacco/nicotine use at 180 days (P=0.007). Predictive modeling showed increases of 0.77%, 1.70%, and 2.44% risk of readmission at 30, 90, and 180-days respectively per additional MRF (all P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the negative impact each MRF has on patients following lumbar spinal fusion. Further longitudinal research is necessary to comprehensively characterize the effects of various MRFs on spine surgery outcomes.

Timing of inpatient medical complications after adult spinal deformity surgery: early ambulation matters

BACKGROUND

The substantial risk for medical complication after adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery is well known. However, the timing of medical complications during the inpatient stay have not been previously described. Accurate anticipation of complications and adverse events may improve patient counseling and postoperative management.

PURPOSE

(1) Describe the rate of medical complication and adverse events by postoperative day after ASD surgery and (2) determine whether early ambulation is protective for complications.

STUDY DESIGN/SETTING

Single institution retrospective cohort study.

PATIENT SAMPLE

Two hundred thirty-five patients with ASD who underwent posterior-only fusion of the lumbar spine (≥5 levels to the pelvis) between 2013 and 2020.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Medical complications, categorized per the International Spine Study Group-AO system (cardiopulmonary [CP], gastrointestinal [GI], central nervous system [CNS], infectious [nonsurgical site], and renal) and adverse events (postoperative blood transfusion, urinary retention, and electrolyte abnormalities).

METHODS

Patients were identified from an institutional ASD database. Outcome measures were classified by the first postoperative day the event was recognized. Demographics, year of surgery, surgical factors, radiographic parameters, surgical invasiveness (ASD-S Index), frailty (Modified Frailty Index-5 [mFI-5]), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), smoking, preoperative opioid use, depression, and post-operative day of ambulation were assessed as risk factors for inpatient medical complications.

RESULTS

After exclusions of patients with incomplete medical chart data, 191 patients were available for analysis, mean age 66±10 y, BMI 28±5 kg/m2, PI-LL 24±20°, T1PA 28±13°. Inpatient medical complications occurred in 55 (28.8%) patients; adverse events occurred in 137 (71.7%). Length of stay was higher in patients with medical complications (mean 8.5±3.8 vs. 5.8±2.3 days, p<.001). However, for patients who had an adverse event, but no medical complication, LOS was comparable (p>.05). Most medical complications occurred by POD3 (58% of all complications). Risk (defined as the proportion of patients with that complication out of all inpatients that day) of CNS, CP, and GI complication peaked early in the postoperative course (CNS on POD1 [2.1% risk]; GI on POD2 [3.7%]; CP on POD3 [2.7%]). Risk for infectious and renal complications (infectious POD8 [2.7%]; renal POD7 [0.9%]) peaked later (Figure 1). On univariate analysis, patients with medical complications had higher rates of OSA (9.1% vs. 2.2%, p=.045), ASD-S (45.9 vs. 40.8, p=.04), max coronal cobb (46.9 vs. 36.7°, p=.003), ASA class (2.5 vs. 2.3, p=.01), and POD of ambulation (1.9 vs. 1.3, p=.01). On multivariate logistic regression (c-statistic 0.78), larger coronal cobb and later POD of ambulation were independent risk factors for complications (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01-1.07 and OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.2-4.7, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Our data may inform peri-operative management and patient expectations for hospitalization after ASD surgery. Early ambulation may reduce the risk of complications.

Perioperative Care of Patients Undergoing Major Complex Spinal Instrumentation Surgery: Clinical Practice Guidelines From the Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care

Evidence-based standardization of the perioperative management of patients undergoing complex spine surgery can improve outcomes such as enhanced patient satisfaction, reduced intensive care and hospital length of stay, and reduced costs. The Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC) tasked an expert group to review existing evidence and generate recommendations for the perioperative management of patients undergoing complex spine surgery, defined as surgery on 2 or more thoracic and/or lumbar spine levels. Institutional clinical management protocols can be constructed based on the elements included in these clinical practice guidelines, and the evidence presented.

Predicting the risk of postoperative acute kidney injury: development and assessment of a novel predictive nomogram

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to establish and internally verify the risk nomogram of postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

METHODS

We retrospectively collected data from 559 patients with renal cell carcinoma from June 2016 to May 2019 and established a prediction model. Twenty-six clinical variables were examined by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis, and variables related to postoperative AKI were determined. The prediction model was established by multiple logistic regression analysis. Decision curve analysis was conducted to evaluate the nomogram.

RESULTS

Independent predictors of postoperative AKI were smoking, hypertension, surgical time, blood glucose, blood uric acid, alanine aminotransferase, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and radical nephrectomy. The C index of the nomogram was 0.825 (0.790-0.860) and 0.814 was still obtained in the internal validation. The nomogram had better clinical benefit when the intervention was decided at the threshold probabilities of >4% and <79% for patients and doctors, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This novel postoperative AKI nomogram incorporating smoking, hypertension, the surgical time, blood glucose, blood uric acid, alanine aminotransferase, the estimated glomerular filtration rate, and radical nephrectomy is convenient for facilitating the individual postoperative risk prediction of AKI in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Analysis of intraoperative modifiable factors to prevent acute kidney injury after elective noncardiac surgery: intraoperative hypotension and crystalloid administration related to acute kidney injury

Background

The optimal intraoperative blood pressure range and crystalloid administration protocol for the prevention of acute kidney injury (AKI) after elective noncardiac surgery remain unknown.

Methods

This single-center retrospective cohort study included 6296 patients aged ≥ 50 years who had undergone elective noncardiac surgery under general anesthesia. We evaluated the relationship between duration of intraoperative hypotension and AKI. To assess whether the effects of crystalloid administration differed according to baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), we examined the interaction between intraoperative crystalloid administration and eGFR. We calculated univariable and multivariable adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for the prevalence of AKI.

Results

AKI occurred in 431 (6.8%) patients and was associated with intraoperative hypotension. Effects of intraoperative crystalloid administration differed significantly according to baseline eGFR. Increased risk of AKI was noted in patients with eGFR ≤45 ml min⁻¹ 1.73m⁻² who were managed with restrictive or liberal crystalloid administration [OR 4.79 (95% CI 3.10 to 7.32) and 6.43 (95% CI 2.23 to 16.03), respectively] as opposed to those with eGFR >45 ml min⁻¹ 1.73m⁻² who were managed with moderately restrictive crystalloid administration.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that anesthesiologists should avoid intraoperative hypotension as well as either restrictive or liberal (as opposed to moderately restrictive) crystalloid administration in patients with decreased eGFR. Intraoperative blood pressure and crystalloid administration protocol are major modifiable factors that must be optimized to prevent postoperative AKI.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40981-021-00429-9.

Incidence of and factors associated with acute kidney injury after scoliosis surgery in pediatric patients

PURPOSE

We sought to identify the national incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) associated with pediatric posterior spinal fusion (PSF) surgery for scoliosis, and to determine factors that increase risk.

METHODS

The 1998-2014 National Inpatient Sample (NIS), a large United States hospital discharge database, was queried for discharges aged 0-17 years with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes for scoliosis undergoing PSF for the outcome of AKI. Discharges were divided into those with AKI and unaffected. We fit adjusted logistic regression models to yield point estimates, odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals, and p values for the weighted, national population sample with postulated risk factors. The fit of the multivariable regression model was tested using the Hosmer-Lemeshow test, and collinearity using the variance inflation factor.

RESULTS

The NIS contained 103,270 weighted discharges meeting inclusion criteria. AKI incidence was 0.1%. Multivariable logistic regression model showed significantly increased odds ratios with thrombocytopenia, rhabdomyolysis, chronic kidney disease, abnormal coagulation, and male sex. AKI increased both hospital stay and cost by threefold compared to unaffected children.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that AKI after pediatric PSF is rare. It is associated with abnormal coagulation, chronic kidney disease, and rhabdomyolysis, but not with the number of vertebral levels fused. Female sex appears to be protective. The retrospective nature of study and reliance on ICD-9-CM codes may under-represent the incidence of AKI in pediatric PSF patients.

Preoperative Risk and the Association between Hypotension and Postoperative Acute Kidney Injury

BACKGROUND

Despite the significant healthcare impact of acute kidney injury, little is known regarding prevention. Single-center data have implicated hypotension in developing postoperative acute kidney injury. The generalizability of this finding and the interaction between hypotension and baseline patient disease burden remain unknown. The authors sought to determine whether the association between intraoperative hypotension and acute kidney injury varies by preoperative risk.

METHODS

Major noncardiac surgical procedures performed on adult patients across eight hospitals between 2008 and 2015 were reviewed. Derivation and validation cohorts were used, and cases were stratified into preoperative risk quartiles based upon comorbidities and surgical procedure. After preoperative risk stratification, associations between intraoperative hypotension and acute kidney injury were analyzed. Hypotension was defined as the lowest mean arterial pressure range achieved for more than 10 min; ranges were defined as absolute (mmHg) or relative (percentage of decrease from baseline).

RESULTS

Among 138,021 cases reviewed, 12,431 (9.0%) developed postoperative acute kidney injury. Major risk factors included anemia, estimated glomerular filtration rate, surgery type, American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status, and expected anesthesia duration. Using such factors and others for risk stratification, patients with low baseline risk demonstrated no associations between intraoperative hypotension and acute kidney injury. Patients with medium risk demonstrated associations between severe-range intraoperative hypotension (mean arterial pressure less than 50 mmHg) and acute kidney injury (adjusted odds ratio, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.65 to 4.16 in validation cohort). In patients with the highest risk, mild hypotension ranges (mean arterial pressure 55 to 59 mmHg) were associated with acute kidney injury (adjusted odds ratio, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.16 to 1.56). Compared with absolute hypotension, relative hypotension demonstrated weak associations with acute kidney injury not replicable in the validation cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

Adult patients undergoing noncardiac surgery demonstrate varying associations with distinct levels of hypotension when stratified by preoperative risk factors. Specific levels of absolute hypotension, but not relative hypotension, are an important independent risk factor for acute kidney injury.

Inpatient morbidity after spinal deformity surgery in patients with movement disorders

Background

To investigate the inpatient perioperative morbidity rate of patients with movement disorders (MD) after spinal deformity surgery.

Methods

The Nationwide Inpatient Sample database from 2002 to 2011 was queried to identify adult patients with MD who underwent spinal deformity surgery. Complication rates were compared between patients with MD and controls. A multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the effect of MD on outcome.

Results

A total of 365 patients with MD (3.3%) were identified among 11,043 patients undergoing surgery for spinal deformity. Patients with MD were on average 8 years older than the control group (67 vs. 59 years of age, P<0.001). The complication rate was 55.1% for patients with MD and 43.7% for patients without MD (P<0.001). The most common complication was acute post-hemorrhagic anemia, which occurred in 31.9% of all patients (41.6% in MD patients and 31.5% in the control group, P<0.001). Other complications that were more common in patients with MD included delirium (P<0.001), acute kidney injury (P=0.032), and pulmonary embolism (P=0.014). After controlling for patient age, sex, osteoporosis, complex procedures, fusion to the lumbosacral spine, use of bone morphogenetic protein, and use of blood transfusion, patients with MD were 1.3 times more likely to develop a complication compared to patients without MD [odds ratio (OR), 1.27; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02-1.59; P=0.032] on multiple logistic regression analysis. No significant difference in hospital stay was observed.

Conclusions

Patients with MD who undergo spinal deformity surgery may be at risk of higher rate of complications compared to patients without these disorders.

Risk factors for acute renal failure in nephrectomized patients treated in a university hospital

Background

New surgical techniques for nephrectomy mainly related to early diagnosis made possible by advances in imaging studies have been developed in recent decades. However, postoperative renal dysfunction is a constant concern because of the major problems faced by healthcare services and by the patients themselves. To assess risk factors for developing acute renal failure (ARF) in patients submitted to nephrectomy in a university hospital.

Methods

Seventy-seven patients submitted to nephrectomy for benign and malignant diseases in a university hospital were evaluated in respect to preoperative and postoperative creatinine clearance. Demographic (gender, age), clinical (cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease) and surgical (anesthesia time, open or laparoscopic surgery) variables were also analyzed.

Results

Of the 77 patients, 72 met the inclusion criteria. Of these, ten (13.8%) had a diagnosis of chronic renal failure (CRF), 30 (48%) had stage I ARF and one (16.1%) had stage II ARF. The anesthesia time, type of surgery (open or laparoscopy), total or partial nephrectomy, the side of the procedure, hypertension, diabetes, CRF, renal cancer, preoperative and postoperative creatinine concentrations were analyzed. Only the difference between preoperative and postoperative creatinine clearance was clinically significant (P<0.001).

Conclusions

An altered preoperative renal function is a risk factor for the development of ARF in nephrectomized patients.

Perioperative factors associated with acute kidney injury after partial nephrectomy

BACKGROUND

Partial nephrectomy is performed with the aim to preserve renal function. But the occurrence of postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) can interfere with this goal. Our primary aim was to evaluate associations between pre-specified modifiable factors and estimated glomerular filtration rate after partial nephrectomy. Our secondary aims were to evaluate associations between pre-specified modifiable factors and both serum creatinine concentration and type of nephrectomy.

METHODS

The records of 1955 patients who underwent partial nephrectomy were collected. Postoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was used as the primary outcome measure. Twenty modifiable risk factors were studied. A repeated-measures linear model with autoregressive within-subject correlation structure was used. The interaction between all the factors and type of nephrectomy was also studied.

RESULTS

A total of 1187 (61%) patients had no kidney injury, 647 (33%) had stage I, 80 (4%) had stage II, and 41 (2%) had stage III injury. The mean eGFR increased an estimated 0.83 (99.76% CI 0.79-0.88) ml min(-1) 1.73 m(-2) for a unit increase in baseline eGFR. Mean eGFR was 2.65 (99.76% CI: 0.13, 5.18) ml min(-1) 1.73 m(-2) lower in patients with hypertension. Mean eGFR decreased 0.42 (99.76% CI: 0.22, 0.62) ml min(-1) 1.73 m(-2) for a 10-minute longer in duration of procedure and decreased 2.09 (99.76% CI: 1.39, 2.80) ml min(-1) 1.73 m(-2) for a 10-minute longer in ischemia time. It was 3.53 (99.76% CI: 0.83, 6.23) ml min(-1) 1.73 m(-2) lower for patients who received warm ischemia as compared to cold ischemia.

CONCLUSION

Potentially modifiable factors associated with AKI in the postoperative period were identified as baseline renal function, preoperative hypertension, longer duration of surgical time and ischaemia time, and warm ischaemia.

Postoperative complications of spine surgery

A variety of surgical approaches are available for the treatment of spine diseases. Complications can arise intraoperatively, in the immediate postoperative period, or in a delayed fashion. These complications may lead to severe or even permanent morbidity if left unrecognized and untreated [1-4]. Here we review a range of complications in the early postoperative period from more benign complications such as postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) to more feared complications leading to permanent loss of neurological function or death [5]. Perioperative pain management is covered in a separate review (Chapter 8).

Hyperglycemia and Acute Kidney Injury During the Perioperative Period

Hyperglycemia and acute kidney injury (AKI) are frequently observed during the perioperative period. Substantial evidence indicates that hyperglycemia increases the prevalence of AKI as a surgical complication. Patients who develop hyperglycemia and AKI during the perioperative period are at significantly elevated risk for poor outcomes such as major adverse cardiac events and all-cause mortality. Early observational and interventional trials demonstrated that the use of intensive insulin therapy to achieve strict glycemic control resulted in remarkable reductions of AKI in surgical populations. However, more recent interventional trials and meta-analyses have produced contradictory evidence questioning the renal benefits of strict glycemic control. Although the exact mechanisms through which hyperglycemia increases the risk of AKI have not been elucidated, multiple pathophysiologic pathways have been proposed. Hypoglycemia and glycemic variability may also play a significant role in the development of AKI. In this literature review, the complex relationship between hyperglycemia and AKI as well as its impact on clinical outcomes during the perioperative period is explored.

Exploring Potential Reasons for the Temporal Trend in Dialysis-Requiring AKI in the United States

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The population incidence of dialysis-requiring AKI has risen substantially in the last decade in the United States, and factors associated with this temporal trend are not well known.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a United States nationally representative database of hospitalizations from 2007 to 2009. We used validated International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes to identify hospitalizations with dialysis-requiring AKI and then, selected the diagnostic and procedure codes most highly associated with dialysis-requiring AKI in 2009. We applied multivariable logistic regression adjusting for demographics and used a backward selection technique to identify a set of diagnoses or a set of procedures that may be a driver for this changing risk in dialysis-requiring AKI.

RESULTS

From 2007 to 2009, the population incidence of dialysis-requiring AKI increased by 11% per year (95% confidence interval, 1.07 to 1.16; P<0.001). Using backward selection, we found that the temporal trend in the six diagnoses, septicemia, hypertension, respiratory failure, coagulation/hemorrhagic disorders, shock, and liver disease, sufficiently and fully accounted for the temporal trend in dialysis-requiring AKI. In contrast, temporal trends in 15 procedures most commonly associated with dialysis-requiring AKI did not account for the increasing dialysis-requiring AKI trend.

CONCLUSIONS

The increasing risk of dialysis-requiring AKI among hospitalized patients in the United States was highly associated with the changing burden of six acute and chronic conditions but not with surgeries and procedures.

Risk factors for renal dysfunction after total hip joint replacement; a retrospective cohort study

Background and purpose of the study

Renal injury and dysfunction are serious complications after major surgery, which may lead to increased morbidity and mortality. The objective of our study was to identify the possible risk factors for renal dysfunction after total hip joint replacement surgery.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted among 599 consecutive primary hip joint replacements performed between January 2011 and December 2013. According to the RIFLE criteria, increased postoperative serum creatinine was considered indicative of postoperative renal injury. The Welch two-sample test, chi-square test, and Fisher exact test were used for statistical analysis.

Results

Eighty-one patients (13.8 %) had significant moderate or severe postoperative renal dysfunction in which 10 patients (1.7 %) acquired severe and permanent renal impairment.

Conclusion

We identified advanced age, hypertension, general anesthesia, high ASA scores, low intra-operative systolic BP, and prophylactic dicloxacillin as significant risk factors. Low baseline systolic BP, low baseline diastolic blood pressure, and hip fracture diagnosis were independent risk factors for postoperative increase in serum creatinine. Smoking, diabetes mellitus, high BMI, gender, and duration of surgery were not identified as significant risk factors.

Rotational thromboelastometry–guided blood product management in major spine surgery

OBJECT

Major spinal surgery in adult patients is often associated with significant intraoperative blood loss. Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) is a functional viscoelastometric method for real-time hemostasis testing. In this study, the authors sought to characterize the coagulation abnormalities encountered in spine surgery and determine whether a ROTEM-guided, protocol-based approach to transfusion reduced blood loss and blood product use and cost.

METHODS

A hospital database was used to identify patients who had undergone adult deformity correction spine surgery with ROTEM-guided therapy. All patients who received ROTEM-guided therapy (ROTEM group) were matched with historical cohorts whose coagulation status had not been evaluated with ROTEM but who were treated using a conventional clinical and point-of-care laboratory approach to transfusion (Conventional group). Both groups were subdivided into 2 groups based on whether they had received intraoperative tranexamic acid (TXA), the only coagulation-modifying medication administered intraoperatively during the study period. In the ROTEM group, 26 patients received TXA (ROTEM-TXA group) and 24 did not (ROTEM-nonTXA group). Demographic, surgical, laboratory, and perioperative transfusion data were recorded. Data were analyzed by rank permutation test, adapted for the 1:2 ROTEM-to-Conventional matching structure, with p < 0.05 considered significant.

RESULTS

Comparison of the 2 groups in which TXA was used showed significantly less fresh-frozen plasma (FFP) use in the ROTEM-TXA group than in the Conventional-TXA group (median 0 units [range 0–4 units] vs 2.5 units [range 0–13 units], p < 0.0002) but significantly more cryoprecipitate use (median 1 unit [range 0–4 units] in the ROTEM-TXA group vs 0 units [range 0–2 units] in the Conventional-TXA group, p < 0.05), with a nonsignificant reduction in blood loss (median 2.6 L [range 0.9–5.4 L] in the ROTEM-TXA group vs 2.9 L [0.7–7.0 L] in the Conventional-TXA group, p = 0.21). In the 2 groups in which TXA was not used, the ROTEM-nonTXA group showed significantly less blood loss than the Conventional-nonTXA group (median 1 L [range 0.2–6.0 L] vs 1.5 L [range 1.0–4.5 L], p = 0.0005), with a trend toward less transfusion of packed red blood cells (pRBC) (median 0 units [range 0–4 units] vs 1 unit [range 0–9 units], p = 0.09]. Cryoprecipitate use was increased and FFP use decreased in response to ROTEM analysis identifying hypofibrinogenemia as a major contributor to ongoing coagulopathy.

CONCLUSIONS

In major spine surgery, ROTEM-guided transfusion allows for standardization of transfusion practices and early identification and treatment of hypofibrinogenemia. Hypofibrinogenemia is an important cause of the coagulopathy encountered during these procedures and aggressive management of this complication is associated with less intraoperative blood loss, reduced transfusion requirements, and decreased transfusion-related cost.