Lumbar degeneration and quality of life in patients with lumbar disc herniation: a case-control long-term follow-up study
Background and purpose: Adults treated surgically for lumbar disc herniation in adolescence have a higher degree of lumbar disc degeneration than controls. We aimed to establish whether the degree of lumbar degeneration differs at diagnosis or at follow-up between surgically and non-surgically trea...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Medical Journals Sweden
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Acta Orthopaedica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://actaorthop.org/actao/article/view/39944 |
| Summary: | Background and purpose: Adults treated surgically for lumbar disc herniation in adolescence have a higher degree of lumbar disc degeneration than controls. We aimed to establish whether the degree of lumbar degeneration differs at diagnosis or at follow-up between surgically and non-surgically treated individuals.
Methods: We identified individuals with a lumbar disc herniation in adolescence diagnosed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and contacted them for follow-up MRI. Lumbar degeneration was assessed according to Pfirrmann, Modic, and total end plate score (TEP score). Patient-reported outcome measures at follow-up comprised the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), EQ-5D-3-level version, 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for back and leg pain. Fisher’s exact test, Mann–Whitney U tests, Wilcoxon tests, and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis.
Results: MRIs were available at diagnosis and after a mean of 11.9 years in 17 surgically treated individuals and 14 non-surgically treated individuals. Lumbar degeneration was similar at diagnosis (P = 0.2) and at follow-up, with the exception of higher TEP scores in surgically treated individuals at levels L4–L5 and L5–S1 at follow-up (P ≤ 0.03), but this difference did not remain after adjustment for age and sex (P ≥ 0.8). There were no significant differences in patient-reported outcome measures between the groups at follow-up (all P ≥ 0.2).
Conclusion: Adolescents with a lumbar disc herniation have, irrespective of treatment, a similar degree of lumbar degeneration at the time of diagnosis, and similar lumbar degeneration and patient-reported outcomes at long-term follow-up.
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| ISSN: | 1745-3674 1745-3682 |