Comparing Preoperative Quality of Life Questionnaire in Lumbar Stenosis

Abstract

Objective: To correlate the four quality of life questionnaires: Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), SF-36, Swiss Spinal Stenosis Questionnaire (SSS), and EQ-5D in patients who have not received surgical treatment of lumbar stenosis. Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study. Forty patients diagnosed with lumbar stenosis at a university hospital answered four quality-of-life questionnaires in a preoperative consultation. The scores of each questionnaire were tabulated and then compared. In statistical analysis, the Spearman correlation was performed. Results: 17 female and 23 male patients with a mean age of 56.5 years. ODI had an average dysfunction of 44.9%; the PCS score averaged 29.9, and the MCS score of 41.3. The general symptoms of SSS presented a mean of 3.2, and the EQ-5D presented an average of 0.491. The EQ-5D presented the best correlation with the other questionnaires. The score that presented a worse correlation with the other questionnaires was the neuroischemic symptomatology of SSS. Conclusion: quality-of-life questionnaires can be correlated; thus, the evaluation of preoperative patients can be simplified. Level of Evidence III; Diagnostic Studies.