Immediate Postoperative Pain Scores Predict Neck Pain Profile up to 1 Year Following Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion

Study Design: Retrospective cohort review. Objective: To assess whether immediate postoperative neck pain scores accurately predict 12-month visual analog scale–neck pain (VAS-NP) outcomes following Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion surgery (ACDF). Methods: This was a retrospective study of 82 patients undergoing elective ACDF surgery at a major academic medical center. Patient reported outcomes measures VAS-NP scores were recorded on the first postoperative day, then at 6-weeks, 3, 6, and 12-months after surgery. Multivariate correlation and logistic regression methods were utilized to determine whether immediate postoperative VAS-NP score accurately predicted 1-year patient reported VAS-NP Scores. Results: Overall, 46.3% male, 25.6% were smokers, and the mean age and body mass index (BMI) were 53.7 years and 28.28 kg/m², respectively. There were significant correlations between immediate postoperative pain scores and neck pain scores at 6 weeks VAS-NP (P =.0015), 6 months VAS-NP (P =.0333), and 12 months VAS-NP (P =.0247) after surgery. Furthermore, immediate postoperative pain score is an independent predictor of 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year VAS-NP scores. Conclusion: Our study suggests that immediate postoperative patient reported neck pain scores accurately predicts and correlates with 12-month VAS-NP scores after an ACDF procedure. Patients with high neck pain scores after surgery are more likely to report persistent neck pain 12 months after index surgery.