Fields MW, Lee NJ, Hong DY, et al. - A retrospective cohort study was conducted to ascertain the national estimates of complication and 90-day readmission rates associated with cervical spinal fusion in adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Researchers queried the National Readmission Database for adults (> 18 years) diagnosed with RA undergoing cervical spine fusion. In bivariate analyses, patient, operative, and hospital factors were evaluated. The stepwise multivariate logistic regression was applied to distinguish independent risk factors for readmissions. Between 2013 and 2014, they included a total of 5,597 RA individuals (average age: 61.5 ± 11.2 years, 70.9% female) who had undergone cervical spine fusion. For RA patients, readmission rates undergoing cervical spine surgery are high and most often due to postoperative infection (septicemia, UTI, pneumonia, wound). The outcomes of this study revealed that the potentially modifiable factors which may improve outcomes include minimizing intraoperative blood losses, postoperative DVT prophylaxis, and discharge disposition.