A new study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine uses the NeuroPoint-SD Registry to examine the predictive value of three-month lumbar discectomy outcomes.
There were 13 academic and community sites participating in this observational study. There were 148 patients enrolled that year, with the average age of 46 years old at the time of surgery.
Here are five key findings from the report:
1. There were 11 patients — 7.4 percent — who needed reoperation one year after surgery. The overall one-year follow-up rate was 80.4 percent.
2. There were significant improvements in the Oswestry disability index and SF-36 scores. There was a 0.246 quality-adjusted life years gained over the one-year study period.
3. The biggest gains happened during the first three months after surgery. The gains in the first three months were significantly more than gains between three months and six months, or six months and one year.
4. There was a similar correlation between three month, six month and one year outcomes. As a result, researchers could use the three month data to estimate one-year outcomes for patients without reoperations.
5. The patients who had reoperations reported worse outcomes scores and non-significant correlations at all times.
"The registry effort provides a practical foundation for the acquisition of outcome data following lumbar discectomy," concluded the study authors.