Influence of Anxiety and Depression on Opioid Use Following Lumbar Spine Fusion: A Large Database Study

Retrospective database.

The purpose of this study was to understand how a mental health disorder, specifically anxiety and depression, influences a patient's postoperative opioid needs following single-level lumbar spine fusion.

Patients with spine pathology commonly demonstrate symptoms of an active psychiatric disorder. Mental health significantly influences how a patient perceives pain and a patient's opioid pain control needs after surgery.

The Pearldiver Patient Claims Database was used to identify patients undergoing single-level posterior spine fusion within the United States between 2010 and 2020. Patients were placed into 1 of 4 groups: those with a diagnosis of depression, those with a diagnosis of anxiety, those with a diagnosis of both anxiety and depression, and a control group. χ 2 tests were used to assess differences in the number of patients filling initial and additional opioid prescriptions for up to 90 days following their fusion.

The control group filled significantly more initial opioid prescriptions within the first 90 days following their spine fusion ( P <0.001). However, there was no difference among the study groups in regard to the additional need for prescriptions.

Patients with mental health diagnoses may present as complex patients to spine surgeons; however, this study suggests they do not require additional opioid pain control following a single-level lumbar fusion.