Cannabis Use Disorder Is Associated With Longer In-Hospital Lengths of Stay, Higher Rates of Medical Complications, and Costs of Care Following Primary 1- to 2-Level Lumbar Fusion

Abstract

Study Design: Retrospective case-control study. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to assess whether cannabis use disorder (CUD) patients undergoing primary 1- to 2-level lumbar fusion (1-2LF) for the treatment of degenerative lumbar spine disorders have higher rates of: (1) in-hospital lengths of stay (LOS), (2) medical complications, and (3) healthcare expenditures. Materials and methods: A retrospective case-control study of the MSpine dataset of the PearlDiver claims from January 2007 to March 2018 was performed. Patients with CUD undergoing 1-2LF were queried and matched to a comparison group in a 1:5 ratio by age, sex, and various medical comorbidities yielding 22, 815 patients within the study (CUD = 3805; control = 19 010). Outcomes analyzed included LOS, 90-day medical complications, and costs. A P-value less than.004 was considered significant. Results: This study found CUD patients undergoing primary 1-2LF experience longer in-hospital LOS (4- vs. 3-days, P