Value of N-Terminal Pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide in Predicting Perioperative Complications Following Spine Surgery

The utility of preoperative biomarkers for assessing perioperative complications in patients undergoing spine surgery (SS) is unclear, and no study has assessed the ability of preoperative natriuretic peptides to predict adverse events following SS. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic importance of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients undergoing SS.

We prospectively followed 154 consecutive adult patients ≥50 years old hospitalized for elective SS. The outcomes of interest were length of stay in hospital and perioperative medical complications during hospitalization, defined as pneumonia, deep or organ space surgical site infection, bacteremia, prolonged mechanical ventilation >48 hours, unplanned reintubation, acute renal failure, sepsis or septic shock, venous thromboembolism (deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism), cardiac arrest, stroke, myocardial infarction, return to operating room, and in-hospital mortality.

In 21 (13.6%) patients, 32 episodes of medical adverse events occurred. Older patients and patients with more comorbid conditions, such as heart failure, diabetes, cerebrovascular disease, coronary artery disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tended to have a higher rate of adverse events. Patients with adverse events had higher NT-proBNP and troponin levels on admission compared with patients without adverse events. Multivariate analysis showed that NT-proBNP >242 pg/ml (odds ratio 2.374; 95% confidence interval, 1.000-2.958; P = 0.001) and presence of diabetes (odds ratio 2.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.86-7.89; P = 0.008) were significant and independent predictors of perioperative adverse events.

This study demonstrates that preoperative NT-proBNP level in patients undergoing SS could be a valuable prognostic marker for several postoperative complications.