TY - JOUR T1 - A Review of Vitamin D in Spinal Surgery: Deficiency Screening, Treatment, and Outcomes JF - International Journal of Spine Surgery JO - Int J Spine Surg SP - 447 LP - 454 DO - 10.14444/7059 VL - 14 IS - 3 AU - BENJAMIN C. MAYO AU - DUSTIN H. MASSEL AU - ALEM YACOB AU - ANKUR S. NARAIN AU - FADY Y. HIJJI AU - NATHANIEL W. JENKINS AU - JAMES M. PARRISH AU - KRISHNA D. MODI AU - WILLIAM W. LONG AU - NADIA M. HRYNEWYCZ AU - THOMAS S. BRUNDAGE AU - KERN SINGH Y1 - 2020/06/01 UR - http://ijssurgery.com//content/14/3/447.abstract N2 - In this review, we discuss the demonstrated value of vitamin D in bone maintenance, fracture resistance, spinal health, and spine surgery outcomes. Despite this, the effect of vitamin D levels in spine surgery has not been well described. Through this review of literature, several conclusions were drawn. First, despite the fact that a high number of spine surgery patients are vitamin D deficient, screening is not commonly performed. Second, adequate vitamin D levels will not be achieved in a majority of these patients without supplementation. Last, inadequate vitamin D levels may increase the risk of pseudarthrosis. Given these findings, we suggest that many patients undergoing spinal surgery could be treated with vitamin D supplementation prior to surgery without the need for confirmatory testing for vitamin D deficiency. This is a more cost-effective method than screening all patients. However, future randomized trials and cost-effectiveness analyses are needed to determine the ultimate effects of vitamin D supplementation on clinical morbidity and surgical outcomes. ER -