J Korean Soc Spine Surg.  2000 Mar;7(1):37-43.

Treatment of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis with Diabetes Mellitus

• Bae SW
• Kwak HY
• Song BY
• Choi NH
• Kim HJ

Abstract

STUDY DESIGN: This retrograde study was designed to compare the clinical features and postoperative clinical results between diabetic and non-diabetic patients who had been performed decompression and arthrodesis with instrumentation. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: There are controversies in the treatment results of diabetic patients.
OBJECTIVE
To identify poor results in the patients of lumbar spinal stenosis accompanied diabetes mellitus and to find out variables influencing postoperative results among diabetics.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We analyzed 27 diabetic patients and sex, age-matched 27 non-diabetic patients who were diagnosed as lumbar spinal stenosis and operated from April, 1995 to December, 1998. In all patients, duration of symtoms, sensory and motor deficits, comorbidity, level of operations were investigated and in diabetics, duration of diabetes, amount of insulin administered before operation and presence of diabetic neuropathy were included. Clinical results, postoperative complications were compared between diabetics and non-diabetics.
RESULTS
Considerable improvement was reported by 19(71%) in diabetic group and 21(78%) in non-diabetic group. Complication rate such as of infection and delayed wound healing was not higher in diabetic group than non-diabetic group. Duration of diabetes and amount of insulin before operation did not affected the result of operations.
CONCLUSION
The outcome of surgery was similary successful in the two groups.

Keyword

Lumbar spinal stenosis; Diabetes mellitus; Decompression and arthrodesis

MeSH Terms

Arthrodesis
Comorbidity
Decompression
Diabetes Mellitus*
Diabetic Neuropathies
Humans
Insulin
Postoperative Complications
Spinal Stenosis*
Wound Healing
Insulin