Impact of preoperative weakness and duration of symptoms on health-related quality-of-life outcomes following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion

The majority of patients with preoperative upper extremity weakness show improvements in motor function after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Although numerous studies have examined both the extent and time course to which motor function can be expected to improve, few have shown that these improvements in motor function translate to improved health related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of preoperative weakness and duration of symptoms on HRQOL outcomes in patients who underwent ACDF. Retrospective cohort study. Adult patients who underwent an ACDF procedure at an academic hospital from January 2015 to December 2016 by a fellowship-trained spine surgeon. The primary outcomes of interest were HRQOL outcomes: Short Form-12 Physical/Mental Component Scores (SF-12 PCS/MCS), Neck Disability Index (NDI), and Visual Analog Scale Arm/Neck scores (VAS Arm/Neck). Patient demographics, surgical case characteristics, and motor strength exams were collected in patients who underwent ACDF over a 2-year period. Preoperative weakness was defined by a strength grade ≤3 (on a scale from 0 to 5) in at least one upper extremity muscle group. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to determine the effect of the preoperative weakness on HRQOL outcomes. Of the 276 patients identified, 45 (16.3%) showed evidence of preoperative weakness, 44 (97.8%) of which showed subsequent postoperative motor improvements after ACDF. All patients reported significant improvements in all HRQOL outcome measures. Patients with preoperative weakness reported significantly worse preoperative VAS Arm (6.9 vs. 5.2; p=.01) and VAS Neck (6.1 vs. 4.8; p=.02) pain scores. Compared with patients without preoperative weakness, those with preoperative weakness reported significantly more improvement in NDI (β: −10.9; p=.001). Patients with symptoms greater than or equal to 12 months and preoperative weakness showed significantly less improvement in NDI (β: 14.8; p=.03). Patients with preoperative weakness generally exhibited worse pain and HRQOL measures preoperatively, and showed greater potential for improvement after ACDF. Patients with a shorter duration of preoperative weakness had greater potential for improvement in HRQOL measures after ACDF compared with those with longer duration of symptoms. ACDF is an effective procedure to improve strength and HRQOL measures across all patient groups under appropriate indicatio