Patients’ expectations of lumbar spine surgery

Abstract

There were wide variations in expectations among patients. Multiple demographic, psychological, and clinical characteristics were associated with expectations, with disability due to pain being the most consistently associated variable.

Criteria for failure and worsening after surgery for lumbar disc herniation: a multicenter observational study based on data from the Norwegian Registry for Spine Surgery

“…Consequently, one should adjust for the baseline score when using such outcome criteria in clinical trials and risk factor analyses. A possible cause might be higher expectations towards improvements among patients with high baseline pain and disability [42]. Fulfillment of expectations has also been identified as a major predictor for positive patient-rated positive outcome after surgery [35].…”

Instruments used in the assessment of expectation toward a spine surgery: an integrative review

“…The methodological characteristics of the articles found are similar, with 16 observational studies (9)(10)(13)(14)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)24,26,(30)(31)(32)(33)(34) ; six prospective cohorts (25,(27)(28)34,(36)(37) ; one retrospective cohort (38) , one quasi-experimental study (35) , and one experimental study (29) . The use of instruments occurred in the immediate preoperative period in 21 studies that assessed patients' expectations (10,14,(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33) , whereas in two studies it occurred when the patient received the indication of surgical treatment (9,27) , one study used them in the intermediate preoperative period (13) ; finally, one study completed the instrument after the patient underwent a spine surgery (34) . Three catego...…”

“…The studies were published between 1998 and 2015 and, in general, publications on this subject increased in the last five years (9)(10)14,(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30) . The methodological characteristics of the articles found are similar, with 16 observational studies (9)(10)(13)(14)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)24,26,(30)(31)(32)(33)(34) ; six prospective cohorts (25,(27)(28)34,(36)(37) ; one retrospective cohort (38) , one quasi-experimental study (35) , and one experimental study (29) . The use of instruments occurred in the immediate preoperative period in 21 studies that assessed patients' expectations (10,14,(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)…”

“…In the category of valid and reliable instruments, we found three studies (10,19,28) using two instruments created by a group of American researchers: the Lumbar Spine Surgery Expectations Survey and the Expectations Survey, which have been recently published (39)(40) . They can be self-administered, contain 20 items, and each item is answered with a five-point Likert scale that evaluates pain, muscle function, status, work, mental well-being, anticipation of the spine condition in the future.…”

Decision-making and patient’s expectations

“…Mancuso et al [1] performed an in-depth study of patients' expectations in lumbar spine surgery on a large number of individuals and were able to isolate factors influencing their expectations. Of course, like for any study there were limitations and they duly reported them.…”