Article

Claims Data Document Futility of Lumbar Fusion

(AAOS2014) A study of Cigna claims documents unmistakeably what happens to patients after lumbar fusion for degenerative conditions: Continued pain.

Analysis of claims for 1,422 patients undergoing lumbar fusion surgery for degenerative spinal conditions has produced a very clear image of the challenge facing these patients and doctors who treat them. The data confirm ample evidence from the medical literature of the limited value of the surgical  procedure.

In the two years after surgery:

•  29%  had lumbar injection procedures
•  32%  used some form of therapy (chiropractic, acupuncture, etc.) for more than 90 days
•  63%  were taking narcotics more than a year post-op
•  95%  who had been on narcotics before surgery continued taking them afterwards
•  98%  were taking multiple classes of pain medications

This was the outcome of claims from patients who had lumbar fusion treated for ICD-9 diagnostic codes consistent with a degenerative condition between January and September 2009.

Those patients taking postoperative narcotics averaged three different brand-name narcotic prescriptions, reported David Mino MD MPH, Cigna's national medical director for orthopedic surgery and spinal disorders  at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting in New Orleans.

Providers need to share data and collaborate to find integrated, patient-centered solutions to the unsolved problem of lumbar pain, he concluded.

 

Related Videos
Uncovering the Role of COVID-19 in Rheumatic Disease, with Leonard Calabrese, DO
Comparing Treatment Options for Psoriatic Arthritis with Philip Mease, MD
Considering Viral Infections in Patients With Rheumatic Disease With Leonard Calabrese, DO
Leonard H. Calabrese, DO, Professor of Medicine and Vice Chair, Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University
Alvin Wells, MD, PhD: Making Informed Treatment Decisions With New Testing Strategies
Alvin Wells, MD, PhD
Upcoming Research in PsA, AxSpa, with Philip Mease, MD
Philip Mease, MD, Clinical Professor, University of Washington School of Medicine and Director, Rheumatology Research, Swedish Medical Center
© 2024 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.