Tag: Disability

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Outcome prediction following lumbar disc surgery: a longitudinal study of outcome trajectories, prognostic factors, and risk models

J Neurosurg Spine 42:33–42, 2025

This study aimed to 1) describe the 2-year postoperative trajectories of leg pain and overall clinical outcome after surgery for radiculopathy, 2) identify the preoperative prognostic factors that predict trajectories representing poor clinical outcomes, and 3) develop and internally validate multivariable prognostic models to assist with clinical decision-making.

METHODS This retrospective cohort study included patients enrolled in the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network who were diagnosed with lumbar disc pathology and radiculopathy and had undergone lumbar discectomy at one of 18 spine centers. Potential outcome predictors included preoperative demographic, health-related, and clinical prognostic factors. Clinical outcomes were 1) 2-year univariable latent trajectories of leg pain intensity (numeric pain rating scale) and 2) overall outcomes comprising multivariable trajectories showing the combined postoperative courses of leg and back pain intensity (numeric pain rating scale) together with pain-related disability (Oswestry Disability Index). Each outcome model identified a subgroup of patients classified as experiencing a poor outcome based on minimal change in their clinical status after surgery. Multivariable risk model performance and internal validity were evaluated with discrimination and calibration statistics based on bootstrap shrinkage with 500 resamplings.

RESULTS The authors included data from 1142 patients (47.6% female). The trajectory models identified 3 subgroups based on the patients’ postoperative courses of pain or disability: 88.6% of patients in the leg pain model and 71.9% in the overall outcome model experienced a good-to-excellent outcome. The models classified 11.4% (leg pain outcome) and 28.2% (overall outcome) of patients as experiencing a poor clinical outcome, which was defined as minimal improvement in pain or disability after surgery. Eleven individual demographic, health, and clinical factors predicted patients’ poor leg pain and overall outcomes. The performance of the multivariable risk model for leg pain was inadequate, while the overall outcome model had acceptable discrimination, calibration, and internal validity for predicting a poor surgical outcome.

CONCLUSIONS Patients with lumbar radiculopathy experience heterogeneous postoperative trajectories of pain and disability after lumbar discectomy. Individual preoperative factors are associated with postoperative outcomes and can be combined within a multivariable risk model to predict overall patient outcome. These results may inform clinical practice but require external validation before confident clinical implementation.

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Patients May Return to Work Sooner After Laminoplasty: Occupational Outcomes of the Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Surgical Trial

Neurosurgery 96:131–141, 2025

Return-to-work (RTW) is an important outcome for employed patients considering surgery for cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). We conducted a post hoc analysis of patients as-treated in the Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Surgical Trial, a prospective, randomized trial comparing surgical approaches for CSM to evaluate factors associated with RTW.

METHODS: In the trial, patients were randomized (2:3) to either anterior surgery (anterior cervical decompression/fusion [ACDF]) or posterior surgery (laminoplasty [LP], or posterior cervical decompression/fusion [PCDF], at surgeon’s discretion). Work status was recorded at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. For patients working full-time or part-time on enrollment, time to RTW was compared across as-treated surgical groups using discrete-time survival analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess predictors of RTW. Clinical outcomes were compared using a linear mixed-effects model. RESULTS: A total of 68 (42%) of 163 patients were working preoperatively and were analyzed. In total, 27 patients underwent ACDF, 29 underwent PCDF, and 12 underwent LP. 45 (66%) of 68 patients returned to work by 12 months. Median time to RTW differed by surgical approach (LP = 1 month, ACDF = 3 months, PCDF = 6 months; P = .02). Patients with longer length-of-stay were less likely to be working at 1 month (odds ratio 0.51; 95% CI, 0.29-0.91; P = .022) and 3 months (odds ratio 0.39; 95% CI, 0.16-0.96; P = .04). At 3 months, PCDF was associated with lower Short-Form 36 physical component summary scores than ACDF (estimated mean difference [EMD]: 6.42; 95% CI, 1.4-11.4; P = .007) and LP (EMD: 7.98; 95% CI, 2.7-13.3; P = .003), and higher Neck Disability Index scores than ACDF (EMD: 12.48; 95% CI, 2.3-22.7; P = .01) and LP (EMD: 15.22; 95% CI, 2.3-28.1; P = .014), indicating worse perceived physical functioning and greater disability, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Most employed patients returned to work within 1 year. LP patients resumed employment earliest, while PCDF patients returned to work latest, with greater disability at follow-up, suggesting that choice of surgical intervention may influence occupational outcomes.

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Conservative Management of Type II Odontoid Fractures in Older People

Neurosurgery 2020 DOI:10.1093/neuros/nyaa256

Type II odontoid fractures are a common cervical fracture in older people. Lower osseous-union rates are reported in those treated conservatively compared to surgically; however, the clinical relevance of a nonunion is unknown.

OBJECTIVE: To compare pain, disability, and quality of life in older people following conservativemanagement of type II odontoid fractures demonstrating osseous-union and nonunion.

METHODS: Electronic records were searched from 2008 to 2018 for adults ≥65 yr with type II odontoid fracture, managed in a semi-rigid collar. Clinical and demographic data were retrieved from electronic patient notes. Surviving patients were invited to complete questionnaires to assess pain, disability, and quality of life. Ethical approval was granted.

RESULTS: A total of 125 patients were identified: 36 (29%) demonstrated osseous-union, 89 (71%) had nonunion, of which 33 (40%) had radiological instability. Mean age at fracture was 84 yr (osseous-union 83 yr; nonunion 84 yr). A total of 53 had deceased (41 nonunion). Median length of survival was 77 mo for osseous-union vs 50 mo for nonunion; P = .02. No patient developed myelopathy during the follow-up period. Questionnaire response rate was 39 (58%). There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of pain, disability, or quality of life (P>.05). Both groups reported mild disability and pain but low quality of life.

CONCLUSION: Management with a semi-rigid collar in older people with type II odontoid fracture is associated with low levels of pain and disability without statistically significant differences between those demonstrating osseous-union or stable or unstable nonunions. Conservative management appears to be a safe treatment for older people with type II fractures.

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