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Study Design: A Prospective cohort study., Objective: To investigate the incidence, etiology, and outcomes of patients who experience neurological deterioration after surgery for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy (DCM)., Summary of Background Data: Postoperative neurological deterioration is one of the most undesirable complications that can occur after surgery for DCM., Methods: We analyzed data from the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network DCM prospective cohort study. We defined postoperative neurological deterioration as any decrease in modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) score by at least one point from baseline to three months after surgery. Adverse events were collected using the Spinal Adverse Events Severity protocol. Secondary outcomes included patient-reported pain, disability, and health-related quality of life., Results: Among a study cohort of 428 patients, 50 (12%) deteriorated by at least one mJOA point after surgery for DCM (21 by one point, 15 by two points, and 14 by three points or more). Significant risk factors included older age, female sex, and milder disease. Among those who deteriorated, 13 experienced contributing intraoperative or postoperative adverse events, six had alternative non-DCM diagnoses, and 31 did not have an identifiable reason for deterioration. Patients who deteriorated had significantly lower mJOA scores at one year after surgery [13.5 (SD 2.7) vs. 15.2 (SD 2.2), P <0.01 and those with larger deteriorations were less likely to recover their mJOA to at least their preoperative baseline, but most secondary measures of pain, disability, and health-related quality of life were unaffected., Conclusions: The incidence of deterioration of mJOA scores after surgery for DCM was approximately one in 10, but some deteriorations were unrelated to actual spinal cord impairment and most secondary outcomes were unaffected. These findings can inform patient and surgeon expectations during shared decision-making, and they demonstrate that the interpretation of mJOA scores without clinical context can sometimes be misleading., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Study Design: Prospective cohort study., Objective: Among patients with CSM, we aimed to evaluate the extent to which: (1) Preoperative cervical sagittal alignment is associated with health-related quality of life, function, and symptoms; (2) Surgery leads to changes in cervical sagittal alignment; and (3) Postoperative cervical sagittal alignment is associated with health-related quality of life, function, and symptoms at 12 months of follow-up., Summary of Background Data: The importance of maintaining or improving cervical sagittal alignment in the surgical management of patients with CSM has not been established., Methods: We measured C2-C7 Cobb angle, T1 slope, and C2-C7 cervical sagittal vertical axis (cSVA). We tested for associations with Neck Disability Index, Pain Scales for neck and arm pain, EuroQol 5D, Short Form 12 Physical and Mental Component Summaries, and modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores. We adjusted for potential confounders using multiple linear regression, and we performed various prespecified subgroup (cSVA > 40 mm, surgical approach) and sensitivity analyses., Results: Among 250 patients, adjusted analyses yielded significant inverse associations prior to surgery between each of cSVA and T1 slope with SF12 Physical Component Summaries (T1 slope: -0.14, 95% CI -0.26 to -0.01, P = 0.03; C2-C7 cSVA: -0.13, 95% CI --0.21 to -0.05 P < 0.01). Surgery was associated with a small but statistically significant increase in cSVA across the cohort (+5.8 mm [SD 11.7], P < 0.01) but no change in Cobb angle or T1 slope. At 12-months after surgery, there were no significant associations between alignment parameters or change in alignment and any measures of health-related quality of life, function, or symptoms. Results were consistent across subgroup and sensitivity analyses., Conclusion: Increased cSVA and T1 slope were associated with inferior health-related quality of life at presentation among patients with CSM, but no significant associations were observed following surgical treatment.Level of Evidence: 3., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)