title: Outpatient Myelography: A Prospective Trial Comparing Complications after Myelography between Outpatients and Inpatients in Japan.
abstract: METHODS
  Prospective comparative study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the incidence and severity of adverse reactions associated with myelography performed in outpatients vs. in inpatients and report the safety and usefulness of outpatient myelography in Japanese patients.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Myelography is normally performed as an inpatient procedure in most hospitals in Japan. No studies have reported the usefulness and adverse effects of outpatient myelography in Japanese patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed 221 myelography procedures. Eighty-five of the 221 patients underwent outpatient myelography using our new protocol. The incidence and severity of adverse reactions were compared with the other 136 patients, who underwent conventional inpatient myelography. We further compared the cost of outpatient and inpatient myelography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall rate of adverse effects was 9.4% in outpatients, as compared with 7.4% in inpatients. Overall, 1.2% of outpatients and 0.74% inpatients experienced "severe" adverse effects (requiring hospitalization). There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in either the overall rate of adverse effects or the rate of "severe" adverse effects. Moreover, the average outpatient procedure cost was only one-third to one-half that of the inpatient procedure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This was the first study to address the safety and usefulness of outpatient myelography in Japanese patients. If selected according to proper inclusion criteria for outpatient procedure, no significant differences were observed in the adverse effects between inpatients and outpatients. The outpatient procedure is more economical and has the added benefit of being more convenient and time-efficient for the patient.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Imagama
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Japanese Red Cross Nagoya First Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Japanese Red Cross Nagoya First Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Takaaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ishiguro
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Japanese Red Cross Nagoya First Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshimitsu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Osawa
keywords: Complications; Health care costs; Inpatient; Myelography; Outpatient