Ketorolac and Spinal Fusion : Does the Perioperative Use of Ketorolac Really Inhibit Spinal Fusion?

• Published in: Spine (Philadelphia, Pa. 1976) Pa. 1976), 2008-09, Vol.33 (19), p.2079-2082
• Main Authors: PRADHAN, Ben B, TATSUMI, Robert L, GALLINA, Jason, KUHNS, Craig A, WANG, Jeffrey C, DAWSON, Edgar G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - adverse effects; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Bone Screws; California - epidemiology; Cerebrospinal fluid. Meninges. Spinal cord; Female; Humans; Injections, Intravenous; Injuries of the nervous system and the skull. Diseases due to physical agents; Ketorolac - adverse effects; Ketorolac - therapeutic use; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Pain, Postoperative - prevention & control; Pseudarthrosis - chemically induced; Pseudarthrosis - epidemiology; Pseudarthrosis - etiology; Retrospective Studies; Spinal Fusion - instrumentation; Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents
• ISSN: 0362-2436; 1528-1159
• DOI: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e31818396f4

Retrospective review. To evaluate the effect of postoperative use of ketorolac (Toradol) on spinal fusion in humans. The value of parenteral ketorolac in postoperative analgesia has been well documented across surgical specialties. However, some studies have shown that ketorolac may adversely affect osteogenic activity and fracture healing. A total of 405 consecutive patients who underwent primary lumbar posterolateral intertransverse process fusion with pedicle screw instrumentation were included in this retrospective study. A subtotal of 228 patients received Toradol after surgery for adjunctive analgesia. Each patient received a mandatory dose of 30 mg intravenously every 6 hours for 48 hours. The same surgeon performed the fusion procedure on all of these patients. Historical controls included 177 patients who did not receive Toradol after surgery. The minimum follow-up period was 24 months. Nonunions were diagnosed by analyzing sequential radiographs, flexion-extension radiographs, and computed tomography with multiplanar reconstructions. The gold standard of surgical exploration was performed in symptomatic patients with diagnostic ambiguity or nonunions diagnosed by imaging. There were no smokers in the study population. Pseudarthrosis was identified in 12 of 228 patients (5.3%) who received Toradol after surgery, and in 11 of 177 patients (6.2%) who did not. There was no significant difference detected in the nonunion rates between the two groups (P > 0.05, chi2 method). Use of ketorolac after spinal fusion surgery in humans, limited to 48 hours after surgery for adjunctive analgesia, has no significant effect on ultimate fusion rates.