Postoperative Venous Thromboembolism in Extramedullary Spinal Tumors

CONTEXT: Venous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is the fatal complication following spine surgery and the appropriate perioperative prophylaxis is still debated. AIMS: The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence of along with risk factors for postoperative VTE in surgically treated extramedullary spinal tumor patients. SETTING AND DESIGNS: The study design involves single institute and retrospective cohort study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The cohort database was reviewed between the periods of January 2014 and June 2019. Patients undergoing surgery for spine tumor, extradural tumor, and intradural extramedullary were consecutively collected. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The incidence of VTE and clinical factors reported to be associated with VTE were identified, and then analyzed with an appropriate Cox regression model. RESULTS: The study identified 103 extramedullary spinal tumor patients. Three patients (2.9%) were diagnosed with a proximal leg DVT, while symptomatic PE did not identify. Risk factors associated with DVT occurrence were as follows: operative time ≥8 h (Hazard ratio [HR] 13.98, P = 0.03) and plasma transfusion (HR 16.38, P = 0.02), whereas plasma transfusion was the only significant factor, after multivariate analysis (HR 11.77, P = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who underwent surgery for extramedullary spinal tumors showed a 2.9% incidence of DVT. The highest rate of DVT was found in patients who received plasma transfusion. More attention should be paid on perioperative associated factors for intensive prevention coupled with early screening in this group.