113. Patients with work-related musculoskeletal disorders treated with minimally invasive microdiscectomy report improvement in clinical outcome measures

• Published in: The spine journal 2024-09, Vol.24 (9), p.S59-S59
• Main Authors: Snigur, Gregory, Sencaj, John, Roca, Andrea M., Anwar, Fatima, Loya, Alexandra C., Medakkar, Srinath, Singh, Kern
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1529-9430
• DOI: 10.1016/j.spinee.2024.06.556

Musculoskeletal disorders stem from functional issues arising due to the gradual accumulation of microscopic damage to muscles or tissues. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) primarily manifest in specific body areas, such as the lower back, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and knees. These disorders are typically caused by repetitive work motions, uncomfortable work postures, excessive exertion, exposure to vibrations, and physical stress resulting from advancements in industrial technology and global production demands. The occurrence of work-related injuries has significant repercussions on the physical well-being of workers, leading to a diminished quality of life. Patients with workers’ compensation (WC) are a unique population of spine patients with the literature providing data supporting their outcomes differ in comparison to other groups of spine patients. The literature on outcomes after lumbar microdiscectomy with WC is limited. The primary objective of this study is to ascertain how receiving WC prior to surgical intervention impacts patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) following lumbar microdiscectomy. This study is a retrospective review. A single surgeon's database was reviewed for patients undergoing primary lumbar microdiscectomy from April 2010 to April 2023. Patients with missing insurance information, undergoing revision surgery, or for indications such as infection, malignancy, or trauma were not included. After propensity score matching, a total of 252 patients were included in the study. Outcome measures included perioperative characteristics, minimal clinically important difference (MCID) achievement rates, and PROMs including Visual Analog Scale back and leg pain (VAS-Back, VAS-L), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), patient-reported outcome measurement information system-physical function (PROMIS-PF), Veteran Rands 12-Item Form Physical Composite Score (VR-12 PCS), and Short Form 12-Item Physical Function (SF-12 PCS). Demographic and perioperative characteristics were gathered via chart review and analyzed using chi-square tests for categorical aspects and student's sample t-tests for continuous factors. MCID achievement rates were calculated from literature values using chi-squared analysis. PROMs were collected preoperatively and postoperatively at 6-weeks, 12-weeks, 6-months and 1-year. Included patients were stratified into two cohorts: No-WC (n=145) and with WC (n=107). Primary outcome findings indicate better preoper