European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Investigation of clinically important benefit of anterior cervical decompression and fusion.
The objectives of the prospective randomized study are to investigate the clinically relevant change after anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF) using measures of pain intensity (visual analog scale, VAS) and neck disability index (NDI). And to determine the number of subjects showing persistent pain and disability at 6-year follow-up. To investigate the possibility of differences in outcome between ACDF with the cervical intervertebral fusion cage (CIFC) and the Cloward procedure (CP). ⋯ Thirty millimeter and 20% in pain intensity and NDI, respectively, are reasonable criteria to suggest a clinically relevant change after ACDF. Before patients undergo ACDF, they should be informed that they have an approximate 50% probability of achieving pain relief and little probability of functional improvement. The findings demonstrate that there is poor evidence for difference between CIFC and CP.