Spinal Anesthesia Associated With Increased Length of Stay Compared to General Anesthesia for Ankle Open Reduction Internal Fixation: A Propensity-Matched Analysis

General and spinal anesthesia are both utilized for patients undergoing open reduction internal fixation of the ankle, but there are little data comparing early complication rates. The purpose of this study was to compare duration of surgery, length of stay, and rates of postoperative adverse events within 30 days in patients undergoing open reduction internal fixation of ankle fracture using spinal versus general anesthesia. Adult patients who underwent open reduction internal fixation of a closed ankle fracture from 2012 to 2016 were retrospectively identified from American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Duration of surgery, length of stay, 30-day adverse events, and unplanned readmissions were compared between patients who received general anesthesia and spinal anesthesia. Propensity adjustment with respect to known risk factors for complications and adjunctive regional block was used to match patients. Of the 10,795 patients included after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 9862 (91.36%) received general anesthesia and 933 (8.64%) received spinal anesthesia. Using propensity-scored matching, 841 patients in the spinal cohort were matched to 3364 patients in the general cohort. Spinal anesthesia was associated with increased length of stay (+0.5 days, 95% confidence interval 0.23-0.77, p < .001). There were no differences in the rates of major/minor complications, mortality, transfusions, unplanned readmissions, or duration of surgery. General anesthesia is predominantly used for fixation of ankle fractures. While spinal anesthesia is associated with lower complication rates in hip and knee surgery, we found that it is associated with increased length of stay in patients undergoing open reduction internal fixation of the ankle within 30 days of surgery. (c) 2020 by the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study compared the duration of surgery, length of stay, and rates of postoperative adverse events in patients undergoing open reduction internal fixation of ankle fracture using spinal versus general anesthesia. Spinal anesthesia was associated with increased length of stay, while there were no significant differences in complication rates, unplanned readmissions, or duration of surgery between the two groups.