Understanding the role of surgical intervention for patients with concomitant degenerative spinal disease without deformity and Parkinson’s disease: a meta-analysis

Parkinson’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disease. With an aging population, co-existent degenerative diseases of the spine in these patients will become more prevalent. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to establish the incidence and risk of adverse outcomes following spinal surgery in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Material and Methods A literature review was carried out in order to identify studies assessing the outcomes of adult patients with Parkinson’s disease undergoing spinal surgery for degenerative conditions. Studies with less than ten subjects or those assessing surgery for spinal deformity or trauma were excluded. Of 74 studies identified, seven were included for meta-analysis. In the 689,578 participants, there was a significantly higher incidence, but not higher risk, of complications (0.54 95% CI [0.19–0.85] vs 0.07 95% CI [0.01–0.41]; <i>p</i> = 0.048) and revision surgery (0.6 95% CI [0.25–0.88] vs 0.1 95% CI [0.05–0.19]; <i>p</i> = 0.003) amongst patients with Parkinson’s disease compared to controls. We also demonstrated a significantly lower incidence but not lower risk of clinical improvement (0.27 95% CI [0.16–0.41] vs 0.57 95% CI [0.36–0.76]; <i>p</i> = 0.02) after surgery in patients with Parkinson’s disease. There was no difference in the incidence or risk of death following surgery. Spinal surgery for concomitant degenerative diseases in patients with Parkinson’s disease is associated with a lower incidence of clinical improvement and a higher incidence of complications. Medical management should be optimised before an individually tailored and well-considered surgical intervention is implemented.