The influence of peri-operative depressive symptoms on medium-term spine surgery outcome: a prospective study

To investigate the role of depressive symptoms on clinical outcomes in patients undergoing spinal surgery up to 2-year follow-up.

The study used data from an institutional spine surgery registry (January 2016, through March 2022) to identify patients (> 18 years) undergoing spine surgery. Patients with Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) < 20/100 at baseline or undergoing surgery on the cervical spine or for idiopathic spinal deformity and trauma patients were excluded. The patients were divided into two groups based on the pre-operative Mental Component Summary (MCS) score of the SF-36: depression group (MCS ≤ 35) or non-depression group (MCS > 35). The ODI and MCS scores trajectory were wined over the 24-month post-surgery between groups. Additionally, a secondary subgroup analysis was conducted comparing outcomes between those with depressive symptoms (persistent-depression subgroup) and those without depressive symptoms (never-depression subgroup) at 3 months after surgery.

A total of 2164 patients who underwent spine surgery were included. The pre-operative depression group reported higher ODI total scores and lower MCS than the pre-operative non-depression group at all time points (P < 0.001). The persistent-depression subgroup reported higher ODI total scores and lower MCS than the never-depression subgroup at all follow-ups (P < 0.001).

Functional disability and mental health status improve in patients with depression symptoms undergoing spinal surgery. Despite this improvement, they do not reach the values of non-depressed subjects. Over the 2-year follow-up time, patients with depression show a different trajectory of ODI and MCS. Caregivers should be aware of these results to counsel patients with depression symptoms.