Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40551471›Full record

ArticleAsian spine journal2025

Laminectomy with fusion for cervical spondylotic myelopathy is associated with higher early morbidity and risk of perioperative complications compared with laminectomy alone: a retrospective study in the United States.

Abhinav Sharma, Paramveer Birring, Nischal Acharya, Manaav Mehta, Nicole Goldenhersh, Michael Steinhaus, Zorica Buser, Hao-Hua Wu, Sohaib Hashmi, Don Young Park and 2 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Asian spine journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Abhinav SharmaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.
Paramveer BirringDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.
Nischal AcharyaDepartment of Neurological Surgery, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.
Manaav MehtaUniversity of Massachusetts Chan School of Medicine, Worcester, MA, USA.
Nicole GoldenhershDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.
Michael SteinhausThe Spine Institute, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Zorica BuserDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA.
Hao-Hua WuDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.
Sohaib HashmiDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.
Don Young ParkDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.
Yu-Po LeeDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.
Nitin BhatiaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

designA retrospective cohort study. PURPOSE: We present data assessing the differences in 30-day morbidity, mortality, and postoperative complications between the two surgical remedy options. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: The choice between decompression with fusion or decompression alone for the management of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) remains controversial.

methodsThe American College of Surgeons National Quality Improvement Program database was queried for adults ≥18 years diagnosed with spondylosis with cervical myelopathy (10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases [ICD-10]: M47.12) or spinal stenosis of the cervical region (ICD-10: M48.02) who underwent laminectomy (Current Procedural Terminology [CPT] 63001, 63015, 63045) with or without fusion (CPT 22600) between 2015 and 2020. Patients were stratified into fusion and non-fusion cohorts for comparative review. Estimated 30-day mortality and morbidity, postoperative complications, and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification were evaluated using chi-square and analysis of variance tests, and results were further stratified according to ASA classification.

resultsOf the 6,412 patients, 3,355 (52%) received laminectomy without fusion, and 3,057 (48%) experienced laminectomy with fusion. Patients undergoing decompression with fusion had higher mean morbidity (estimated probability 0.073 vs. 0.064, p<0.001), unplanned reoperations (4.2% vs. 2.7%, p<0.002), unplanned readmissions (7.6% vs. 6.3%, p<0.014), mean length of stay (5.0±8.9 days vs. 3.4±7.2 days, p<0.001), deep wound infections (0.8% vs. 0.4%, p<0.022), and bleeding risk necessitating transfusion (3.8% vs. 1.6%, p<0.001). Stratification by ASA scores demonstrated an overall higher rate of 30-day postoperative complications with increasing ASA scores in both cohorts, However, the decompression with fusion cohort showed a greater relative increase in complications compared to the decompression-alone cohort with each ASA group.

conclusionsDecompression with fusion is correlated with higher estimated morbidity, unplanned reoperations and readmissions, and 30-day complications postoperatively. Decompression alone is an appealing procedure option for CSM, particularly for patients with higher ASA scores and those at greater risk.

Indexed as

Cervical myelopathyDecompressionDecompression and fusionInstrumentationSpondylosis

Identifiers

PMID40551471
PMCPMC12400103

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.