Intraoperative Neuromonitoring Use Patterns in Degenerative, Nondeformity Cervical Spine Surgery

Abstract

Routine NM use during degenerative cervical surgery is significantly more common in myelopathy and is thought to be of more value than in radiculopathy. However, the most common reasons for usage were to provide medicolegal cover and to mitigate neurological complications related to positioning/hypotension, rather than to protect against direct surgical events. These findings contrast the prevailing notion that NM is beneficial in reducing complications related to events occurring in the surgical site when performing spinal deformity correction. We believe that these data provide an important baseline for informing best practice guidelines and further study regarding appropriate NM use for degenerative, nondeformity, cervical spine surgery.