A new study published in Clinical Spine Surgery compares midline cortical bone trajectory pedicle screws and traditional pedicle screws for spine surgery in ASCs.
The study authors examined 60 patients' medical records to compare results. The matched cohorts each had 30 patients who underwent lumbar fusions with either midline cortical bone trajectory pedicle screws or traditional pedicle screws. The CBT pedicle screw patients underwent surgery in an outpatient surgery center while the traditional screw patients underwent surgery in a hospital.
The study authors found:
1. The patients who underwent outpatient spine surgery with the CBT pedicle screws reported significant improvement in visual analog scale back pain scores, from 7.8 to 2.5.
2. The Oswestry Disability Index scores for the outpatient surgery group demonstrated significant improvement.
3. The fusion rate was similar for both groups of patients.
4. Study authors suggested decreased pull out strength and the shorter operative time drove the better scores in the outpatient surgery center group.
5. The study authors concluded surgery with CBT screws in the outpatient setting is successful. "Although traditional pedicle screw placement is effective and may be viable in an [outpatient surgery center], we see more advantages to use midline cortical screws over traditional pedicle screws."