495 Impact of Postoperative Fatigue Following Minimally-Invasive Lumbar Spine Surgery

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Postoperative fatigue, a feeling of debilitating tiredness and loss of energy, is a distressing symptom and can have a major impact on the patient’s quality of life after surgery. Fatigue may be one of the main complaints after surgery and may last much longer than pain, preventing return to normal function and activity. METHODS: We surveyed patients that underwent minimally-invasive lumbar spine surgery under general anesthesia (laminectomy with or without fusion) within the past year. A five-point Likert scale (very much, quite a bit, somewhat, a little bit, not at all) was used to assess the extent of fatigue during the first postoperative month, its impact on QOL, and ADLs. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 100 patients, 61% were male, with mean age 64.6 ± 12.5 years (range 28-87), 31% underwent an MIS-TLIF, 69% a lumbar laminectomy. During the first postoperative month 45% of patients referred significant fatigue (very much or quite a bit); for 31% of patients fatigue significantly impacted their QOL; and significantly limited their ADLs in 43% of patients. MIS-TLIF was associated with higher rate of postoperative fatigue compared to laminectomy, 61.3% versus 37.7%, p=0.02. Patients 65 years old or older had higher rates of fatigue compared to younger patients, 55.6% versus 32.6%, p = 0.02. We did not observe a statistically significant difference in postoperative fatigue between male and female patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed a substantial incidence of postoperative fatigue in patients that underwent minimally-invasive lumbar spine surgery under general anesthesia, with a significant impact on their QOL and ADLS. There is a need to research new strategies to reduce fatigue after spine surgery.