How much stock should surgeons put into lumbar facet joint effusion on an MRI?
A new article published on The Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques examines whether a lumbar facet joint effusion on the MRI as a sign of unstable degenerative spondylolisthesis should influence treatment decisions.
The researchers examined 160 patients with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis were identified on the Spine Center Registry and examined treatment. There were 44 patients who had effusion and underwent decompression alone; 76 had effusion and underwent decompression and fusion.
There were 19 patients without effusion who underwent just decompression and 21 patients without effusion that underwent decompression and fusion.
Here are four key points from the study:
1. There wasn't any significant difference in outcomes between the patient who had facet effusion and those that didn't when controlling for the patients' age and sex.
2. There weren't significant differences in the outcomes between the patients who underwent decompression and those who underwent decompression and fusion.
3. Although this was a retrospective study, the authors concluded the "effusion sign alone does not seem to be an indication for adding fusion to decompression to treat lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis."
4. The presence of the facet effusion sign itself shouldn't deter surgeons from performing the decompression, concluded the study authors.