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Elective posterior lumbar fusion is a common surgical procedure, but reported length of hospital stay is variable (usually 3–7 days). The effect of a limited number of factors on length of stay (LOS) has previously been evaluated. However, multivariate analysis using LOS as a dependent variable to separate potentially confounding variables has not been performed.

To facilitate setting of realistic expectations and considering the significant costs of hospitalization, it would be ideal to have a clear understanding of the variables affecting LOS for this surgery.

This is a retrospective case series at a tertiary care center.

One hundred three patients undergoing elective, open, one- to three-level posterior lumbar instrumented fusion (with or without decompression) by the orthopedic spine service at our institution between January 2010 and June 2012 were …