Adult spinal deformity patients with radiculopathy have greater postoperative pain, study finds

Adult spinal deformity surgery patients with radiculopathy experience increased pain and disability postoperatively compared with patients without leg pain, according to a study in Spine.

Five things to know:

1. Overall, 324 patients met inclusion criteria, and the researchers placed 90 patients into the radiculopathy and back pain groups. The groups had similar patient-reported outcomes, and at baseline, leg pain patients had greater disability.

2. The researchers analyzed preoperative, postoperative and two-year follow-up radiographic parameters and patient-reported outcomes.

3. There was no difference in surgical strategies between the two groups.

4. The study authors did not observe a difference in postoperative radiographic parameters.

5. ASD patients with radiculopathy had greater pain and disability than patients without leg pain, and this discrepancy persists even after surgical correction, the study authors concluded.

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