Papers of the Week

The incidence of pain-generating degenerative spinal problems in patients who are currently using or have previously used drugs has increased as substance use disorder (SUD) becomes a chronic, lifelong condition. Health system-level data in recent years indicate a significant increase in patients with coexisting SUD and degenerative disc disease, representing an emerging population. A retrospective electronic medical record review identified seven patients with SUD who underwent elective spine surgery by orthopedic or neurosurgical staff from 2012 to 2021. The authors present two of these illustrative cases and a framework that can be used in the treatment of similar patients.