What is the quality of life for patients undergoing spinal fusion?
A new study published in Spine examines the health-related quality of life for spinal fusion patients. There were 242 patients include in the study, sorted into five groups according to surgical indication:
• Degenerative spondylolisthesis: 140
• Isthmic spondylolisthesis: 39
• Spinal stenosis: 23
• Disc pathology: 15
• Postoperative conditions: 25
Here are five key findings from the study:
1. Patients in the isthmic spondylolisthesis group reported the best scores for the HRQOL studies, including SF-6D score, Oswestry Disability Index and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey.
2. Three months after surgery, the SF-6D, ODI and physical component summary improved in all groups. This improvement was sustained until the two-year follow-up.
3. The disc pathology group had the biggest difference in scores:
• ODI: -27
• Physical component summary: 13
• SF-6D: 0.19
4. Mental component summary score values were similar preoperatively. The patients who experienced significant improvement in the mental component summary had degenerative olisthesis, spinal stenosis or preoperative conditions.
5. Study authors concluded that all patients significantly benefited from fusion two years after surgery.