Study authors examined a registry of patients who underwent single-level minimally invasive lumbar discectomies and examined their preoperative mental health as well as patient-reported outcomes. There were 110 patients in the study. Researchers found:
1. Patients with better preoperative mental health scores on the Short-Form Health Survey composite score were more likely to have lower preoperative disability and less back pain before surgery, as measured by the Visual Analog Scale and Oswestry Disability Index.
2. Patients with higher metal health composite scores were more likely to report larger improvements in back VAS six weeks after surgery than those with lower mental health scores.
3. The patients in the bottom quartile of preoperative mental health composite scores reported minimum clinically important differences in all patient-reported outcomes at similar rates to patients with the top quartile of scores, according to the abstract.
4. Study authors found no association between mental score before surgery and patient-reported outcomes 12 weeks and six months after surgery.
5. While the patients with better preoperative mental health scores more often reported less pain and disability, their scores weren’t predictive of long-term outcomes, concluded the study authors. “As a result, patients with a wide range of preoperative mental health scores can achieve long-term reductions in disability and pain levels after a lumbar discectomy.”
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