The American Spine Registry: a foundational overview and data specifications for future research

Area of Science:

• Spine Surgery
• Health Informatics
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• Degenerative spine disease is a leading cause of global healthcare costs.
• Variable effectiveness of spine procedures necessitates standardized data collection and quality monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the American Spine Registry (ASR) data specifications.
• ASR is a joint initiative by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).
• ASR aims to collect high-quality data on spine procedures.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective observational study of prospectively collected ASR data (2020-2023).
• Analysis of over 270 U.S. spine centers involving patients undergoing cervical or lumbar spine surgery.
• Outcome measures included reoperation rates, timing, and procedure types (e.g., ACDF, TLIF).

Main Results:

• The Cervical Module (N=45,013) was dominated by ACDF (64.0%).
• The Lumbar Module (N=184,682) most frequently included transforaminal/posterior lumbar interbody fusion (32.3%).
• Overall reoperation rates were 5.8% (cervical) vs. 10.4% (lumbar), with higher rates of infection, wound complications, pain, and adjacent segment disease in lumbar patients.

Conclusions:

• The American Spine Registry (ASR) is a significant advancement in spine surgery data collection.
• ASR provides valuable insights into practice patterns, outcomes, and quality improvement opportunities.
• Standardized data from ASR supports evidence-based decision-making and enhances spine care quality.