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Final Program


Video

ACOS 2023 Annual Clinical Assembly

Neurological Surgery

Podium Presentations - Neurological Surgery

Retrospective analysis comparing reported outcomes in patients who underwent minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion with iFuse

Thursday, September 21, 2023
3:30 PM - 3:40 PM CT
Location: Los Angeles - Miami - Scottsdale, 5th Floor
Disclosure(s):
Jamie Sheehan, OMSIII: No financial relationships to disclose

Learning Objectives:

  1. Upon completion, participants will be able to describe how iFuse implants, used in SI joint fusion surgery, impact patient-reported outcomes, specifically focusing on Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores.
  2. Upon completion, participants will be able to analyze the changes in VAS and ODI scores at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months following SI joint fusion surgery in comparison to baseline.
  3. Upon completion, participants will be able to recognize the potential role of SI joint dysfunction as a source of low back pain and understand the suitability of minimally invasive SI joint fusion surgery as a viable treatment option.
Introduction/Purpose:

Low back pain is the leading cause of musculoskeletal disability worldwide. Previous studies have shown that between 15-30% of low back pain is caused by sacroiliac (SI) joint dysfunction. The SI joint is often overlooked as a possible source of low back pain. After utilizing conservative treatment options such as physical therapy, therapeutic injections, and activity modifications, a surgical alternative for refractory SI joint pain is SI joint fusion. In this study, we aim to compare patient reported outcomes surgery such as Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) after SI joint fusion for low back pain and disability.

Methods or Case Description:

This study is an IRB approved, retrospective chart review study of 80 patients aged 30-83 with surgical dates from February 24, 2014 to June 10, 2022. Patients received minimally invasive SI joint fusion with iFuse implants. Demographic data was collected, and surgical efficacy was evaluated using two patient reported questionnaires, the VAS and ODI scores from follow-up visits up to 24 months.

Outcomes:

The Results demonstrate that VAS was significantly lower at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months compared to baseline with p values of < 0.001, < 0.001, < 0.001, and =.008, respectively. The ODI was significantly lower at 3, 6, and 12 months and marginally lower at 24 months compared to baseline with p values of < 0.001, =0.002, < 0.001, and 0.054, respectively.


Conclusion:

Results of this study indicate that minimally invasive SI joint fusion with iFuse implants can improve low back pain and disability. A repeated measures ANOVA was completed to compare VAS and ODI scores across all timepoints, and only 12 patients completed a questionnaire at every single timepoint. This analysis of 12 patients demonstrated a significant decrease in VAS scores over time and no significant decrease in ODI across timepoints. However, further analysis was completed using paired samples T tests comparing baseline to each time point for all 80 patients. From the paired sample T test, ODI was significantly lower at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months compared to baseline. ODI was marginally lower at 24 months compared to baseline. With post hoc analysis, the VAS score again was significantly lower at 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months compared to baseline. The results demonstrated that patients’ low back pain and disability is significantly reduced after performing SI joint fusion surgery.