Characteristics and outcomes of patients who did not respond to a national spine surgery registry
Abstract Background Loss to follow-up may bias outcome assessments in medical registries. This cohort study aimed to analyze and compare patients who failed to respond with those that responded to the Norwegian Registry for Spine Surgery (NORspine). Methods We analyzed a cohort of 474 consecutive pa...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-03-01
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| Series: | BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-023-06267-3 |
| _version_ | 1797865892057448448 |
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| author | Simran Kaur Ole Kristian Alhaug Filip C. Dolatowski Tore K. Solberg Greger Lønne |
| author_facet | Simran Kaur Ole Kristian Alhaug Filip C. Dolatowski Tore K. Solberg Greger Lønne |
| author_sort | Simran Kaur |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Loss to follow-up may bias outcome assessments in medical registries. This cohort study aimed to analyze and compare patients who failed to respond with those that responded to the Norwegian Registry for Spine Surgery (NORspine). Methods We analyzed a cohort of 474 consecutive patients operated for lumbar spinal stenosis at four public hospitals in Norway during a two-year period. These patients reported sociodemographic data, preoperative symptoms, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), numerical rating scales (NRS) for back and leg pain to NORspine at baseline and 12 months postoperatively. We contacted all patients who did not respond to NORspine after 12 months. Those who responded were termed responsive non-respondents and compared to 12 months respondents. Results One hundred forty (30%) did not respond to NORspine 12 months after surgery and 123 were available for additional follow-up. Sixty-four of the 123 non-respondents (52%) responded to a cross-sectional survey done at a median of 50 (36–64) months after surgery. At baseline, non-respondents were younger 63 (SD 11.7) vs. 68 (SD 9.9) years (mean difference (95% CI) 4.7 years (2.6 to 6.7); p = < 0.001) and more frequently smokers 41 (30%) vs. 70 (21%) RR (95%CI) = 1.40 (1.01 to 1.95); p = 0.044. There were no other relevant differences in other sociodemographic variables or preoperative symptoms. We found no differences in the effect of surgery on non-respondents vs. respondents (ODI (SD) = 28.2 (19.9) vs. 25.2 (18.9), MD (95%CI) = 3.0 ( -2.1 to 8.1); p = 0.250). Conclusion We found that 30% of patients did not respond to NORspine at 12 months after spine surgery. Non-respondents were somewhat younger and smoked more frequently than respondents; however, there were no differences in patient-reported outcome measures. Our findings suggest that attrition bias in NORspine was random and due to non-modifiable factors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T23:15:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8668a6a6798a4f88b3cb68f09b6ea49f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2474 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T23:15:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders |
| spelling | doaj.art-8668a6a6798a4f88b3cb68f09b6ea49f2023-03-22T10:02:27ZengBMCBMC Musculoskeletal Disorders1471-24742023-03-012411710.1186/s12891-023-06267-3Characteristics and outcomes of patients who did not respond to a national spine surgery registrySimran Kaur0Ole Kristian Alhaug1Filip C. Dolatowski2Tore K. Solberg3Greger Lønne4Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Martina Hansens HospitalInnlandet Hospital TrustDivision of Orthopedic Surgery, Oslo University HospitalDepartment of Neurosurgery & Norwegian Registry for Spine surgery, University Hospital of North NorwayInnlandet Hospital TrustAbstract Background Loss to follow-up may bias outcome assessments in medical registries. This cohort study aimed to analyze and compare patients who failed to respond with those that responded to the Norwegian Registry for Spine Surgery (NORspine). Methods We analyzed a cohort of 474 consecutive patients operated for lumbar spinal stenosis at four public hospitals in Norway during a two-year period. These patients reported sociodemographic data, preoperative symptoms, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), numerical rating scales (NRS) for back and leg pain to NORspine at baseline and 12 months postoperatively. We contacted all patients who did not respond to NORspine after 12 months. Those who responded were termed responsive non-respondents and compared to 12 months respondents. Results One hundred forty (30%) did not respond to NORspine 12 months after surgery and 123 were available for additional follow-up. Sixty-four of the 123 non-respondents (52%) responded to a cross-sectional survey done at a median of 50 (36–64) months after surgery. At baseline, non-respondents were younger 63 (SD 11.7) vs. 68 (SD 9.9) years (mean difference (95% CI) 4.7 years (2.6 to 6.7); p = < 0.001) and more frequently smokers 41 (30%) vs. 70 (21%) RR (95%CI) = 1.40 (1.01 to 1.95); p = 0.044. There were no other relevant differences in other sociodemographic variables or preoperative symptoms. We found no differences in the effect of surgery on non-respondents vs. respondents (ODI (SD) = 28.2 (19.9) vs. 25.2 (18.9), MD (95%CI) = 3.0 ( -2.1 to 8.1); p = 0.250). Conclusion We found that 30% of patients did not respond to NORspine at 12 months after spine surgery. Non-respondents were somewhat younger and smoked more frequently than respondents; however, there were no differences in patient-reported outcome measures. Our findings suggest that attrition bias in NORspine was random and due to non-modifiable factors.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-023-06267-3Loss to follow-upSpine surgeryAttrition biasRegistryNon-responseLumbar spinal stenosis |
| spellingShingle | Simran Kaur Ole Kristian Alhaug Filip C. Dolatowski Tore K. Solberg Greger Lønne Characteristics and outcomes of patients who did not respond to a national spine surgery registry BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders Loss to follow-up Spine surgery Attrition bias Registry Non-response Lumbar spinal stenosis |
| title | Characteristics and outcomes of patients who did not respond to a national spine surgery registry |
| title_full | Characteristics and outcomes of patients who did not respond to a national spine surgery registry |
| title_fullStr | Characteristics and outcomes of patients who did not respond to a national spine surgery registry |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characteristics and outcomes of patients who did not respond to a national spine surgery registry |
| title_short | Characteristics and outcomes of patients who did not respond to a national spine surgery registry |
| title_sort | characteristics and outcomes of patients who did not respond to a national spine surgery registry |
| topic | Loss to follow-up Spine surgery Attrition bias Registry Non-response Lumbar spinal stenosis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-023-06267-3 |
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