The Effect of Oral Vitamin D Supplements on Fusion Outcome in Patients Receiving Elective Lumbar Spinal Fusion

The Effect of Oral Vitamin D Supplements on Fusion Outcome in Patients Receiving Elective Lumbar Spinal Fusion

The process of bony fusion is a dynamic bone remodeling process and a variety of risk factors have been identified to contribute to pseudoarthrosis.Vitamin D deficiency has been reported to be associated with more pseudoarthrosis, prolonged time to fusion, and poorer spine function and quality of life after spinal fusion.However, as the review article presented, it lacks high-quality evidence to investigate the role of vitamin D supplements in spinal fusion. Therefore, this randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of oral vitamin D supplements on fusion outcomes in patients receiving elective lumbar spinal fusion.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age between 20 and 80 years
• Indicated of elective spine fusion surgery for spinal stenosis or degenerative spondylolisthesis at the study hospital from January 2016 to December 2017.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Spinal instability due to trauma, infection, or malignancy
• History of previous spine surgery
• Hemodialysis
• Long-term steroid use
• History of medical treatments for osteoporosis
• Postoperative follow-up for less than 12 months
• Newly-onset compression fracture after study procedure