Comparison of postoperative and outpatient opioid use in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients treated with posterior spinal fusion surgery and vertebral body tethering

Purpose: Surgical treatments for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) include posterior spinal fusion (PSF) and vertebral body tethering (VBT), but there is limited data that compares pain between these groups. We aimed to compare postoperative pain between these patients through inpatient opioid use and opioid prescriptions post-discharge.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients diagnosed with AIS who underwent PSF or VBT surgery was reviewed to determine LOS, inpatient opioid use, and opioids prescribed post-discharge. Only PSF patients who received liposomal bupivacaine and intrathecal (IT) hydromorphone, and VBT patients who received a paravertebral catheter of lidocaine and in addition to IT hydromorphone were included. Opioid amounts were reported as oral morphine equivalents (OMEs).

Results: Of 198 AIS patients that met inclusion, there were 89 PSF and 109 VBT patients. PSF patients had an increased LOS by 0.6 days compared to VBT patients (p < 0.001). Patients in the PSF group were administered a mean of 30.0 OMEs/day compared with the VBT group who received 12.5 OMEs/day (p < 0.001). At discharge, PSF patients were initially prescribed a mean of 227.7 OMEs while VBT patients' mean prescription was 139.7 (p < 0.001). PSF patients received more refills (Χ² (1, n = 198) = 26.8, p < .001) and had a higher mean total of outpatient OMEs prescribed when compared to VBT patients (359.4 vs 185.8, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: In AIS patients undergoing surgical correction, those who underwent PSF had longer LOS, received more inpatient OMEs, and were prescribed more OMEs both at initial discharge and total as an outpatient, when compared to VBT patients.

Level of evidence: Level III: (retrospective cohort study).