The researchers examined 202 patients from a Norwegian Registry for Spine Surgery. The patients had preoperative MRI and were evaluated with the Schizas morphological classification. There were seven patients with mild stenosis, 38 patients with moderate stenosis and 108 with severe stenosis.
The researchers found:
1. For lumbar spinal stenosis, the radiological severity wasn’t linked to:
• Oswestry Disability Index scores
• NRS back pain scores
• NRS leg pain scores
2. There wasn’t any difference in the ODI or NRS back pain or NRS leg pain scores one year after surgery.
3. The stenosis radiological severity wasn’t associated with ODI, NRS back pain and NRS leg pain scores change.
4. There wasn’t any change in the surgery duration, length of hospital stay or perioperative complication rates based on the radiological severity of the stenosis.
5. For the patients who underwent decompressive surgery for the lumbar spinal stenosis, the radiological severity wasn’t associated with preoperative disability and pain or clinical outcomes one year after surgery.
“In this patient group, the radiological severity of LSS has no clear clinical correlation and should therefore not be overemphasized in clinical decision-making,” concluded the study authors.
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