Trends and attitudes of spine surgeons regarding osteoporosis

Neurosurgeons and other specialists are increasingly having to treat patients with osteoporosis who require spinal fusion surgery. Although there are effective pharmacological treatments and innovations in surgical techniques that can benefit these patients, low rates of diagnosis and preoperative treatment of osteoporosis have been reported, in addition to the limited participation of spine surgeons in this area. The objective of this study was to evaluate trends in diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis with regard to spine surgeons of the neurosurgical community.

An electronic survey with 10 multiple-choice questions was issued to Spanish Neurosurgery Society (SENEC) members. The following were evaluated: 1) the surgeon's role regarding osteoporosis in spinal arthrodesis, 2) the influence of osteoporosis in pseudarthrosis, and 3) treatment trends in relation to osteoporotic vertebral fractures.

A total of 77 completed questionnaires were obtained. In patients with suspected osteoporosis, 32.5% of respondents did not consider any measure to diagnose it before spinal arthrodesis. In osteoporosis without treatment, 37.7% would proceed with surgery without treatment or would do so after surgery. A total of 48% of respondents would choose to modify their surgical strategy in patients with osteoporosis. The preferred surgical technique was the placement of augmentation screws (70%). In pseudarthrosis, 46.1% did not consider an osteoporosis diagnosis to be necessary for a reoperation. In osteoporotic vertebral fractures, 80.5% of surgeons considered some measure that would facilitate the treatment of osteoporosis.

Greater participation of the spine surgeon could improve the diagnosis and preoperative treatment of osteoporosis in spinal arthrodesis surgery and pseudarthrosis. In vertebral fractures, there is greater awareness of the optimisation of treatment and monitoring of osteoporosis.