The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society
-
Review Meta Analysis
The efficacy of conventional radiofrequency denervation in patients with chronic low back pain originating from the facet joints: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Radiofrequency denervation is commonly used for the treatment of chronic facet joint pain that has been refractory to more conservative treatments, although the evidence supporting this treatment has been controversial. ⋯ Conventional radiofrequency denervation resulted in significant reductions in low back pain originating from the facet joints in patients showing the best response to diagnostic block over the first 12 months when compared with sham procedures or epidural nerve blocks.
-
Prior reports have compared posterior column osteotomies with pedicle subtraction osteotomies in terms of utility for correcting fixed sagittal imbalance in adolescent patients with deformity. No prior reports have described the use of multilevel Smith-Petersen Osteotomies (SPOs) alone for surgical correction in the adult spinal deformity (ASD) population. ⋯ Multilevel SPOs are feasible for restoration of LL as well as sagittal and coronal alignment in the ASD population with or without prior instrumented fusion.
-
Elective spine surgery is a commonly performed operative procedure, that requires knowledge of risk-adjusted results to improve outcomes and reduce costs. ⋯ Differences among hospitals defines opportunities for care improvement.
-
Surgical treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) may lead to different outcomes in young, middle-aged, and elderly patients. However, no study has, by the same data ascertainment, evaluated referral pattern, improvement, and outcome in different age strata. ⋯ In general, older patients referred to LDH surgery have statistically significantly inferior PROM scores, improve less, and reach inferior PROM scores postoperatively. The clinical relevance must however be questioned because most patients reach, independent of age group, the defined level for a successful outcome, and the patient satisfaction rate is high.
-
The patient experience of care as measured by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey is currently used to determine hospital reimbursement. The current literature inconsistently demonstrates an association between patient satisfaction and surgical outcomes. ⋯ Top-box OHR was not associated with pre- to 1-year postoperative improvement in EQ-5D, PDQ, and VAS-BP. Although the associations between high satisfaction and improvement in health status did not reach statistical significance, the best estimates from our multivariable models reflect greater clinical improvement with top-box satisfaction. Future studies should seek to investigate whether HCAHPS are a reliable indicator of quality care in lumbar spine surgery.