Predictive Factors of Spine Surgery Complications at a Major Government Hospital in Cambodia

Abstract

Background: Spine pathology is a common reason for admission to neurosurgical units in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and can have high morbidity rates from lack of specialized institutes. However, good surgical outcomes and quality-of-life scores have been reported in LMICs. This study details the complication rates and predictive factors from spine surgery at a large hospital in Cambodia, aiming to identify high-risk patients to improve surgeon understanding of these complications for improved pre-operative planning and patient counseling.

Methods: This is a retrospective review of patients admitted for spine conditions to Preah Kossamak Hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (2013-2017). Univariate analysis was conducted on potential predictive factors; variables with P < 0.1 were entered into multivariate logistic regression models.

Results: Seven hundred seventy-three patients were included. Forty-six patients had complications including wrong level surgery, hardware failure, and infection. On multivariate analysis, patients from the provinces of Kratie (P = 0.009) or Sihanoukville (P = 0.036), and those that delayed seeking care for more than 1 year after injury (P = 0.027), were significant predictive factors of postoperative complications, and American Spinal Injury Association grade A injury (P = 0.020) was a predictive factor of poor outcome.

Conclusions: Many factors play a role in spine surgery complications in LMICs, including limited access to intra-operative technology, low follow-up rates, and minimal physiotherapy and rehabilitation capabilities. Patients with long delays in presentation, American Spinal Injury Association grade A injuries, and lumbar-level surgery may be especially susceptible to complications and postoperative morbidity. Despite this, institutions have reported encouraging spine trauma outcomes, and spine surgeries are becoming more accepted and safe operations in many LMICs.

Keywords: Complications; Low- and middle-income countries; Risk factors; Spine complications; Spine surgery.