Observational studyEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2019
Effectiveness of surgery for sciatica with disc herniation is not substantially affected by differences in surgical incidences among three countries: results from the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian spine registries.
Observational study in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Observational analysis of mesh related complications in urogynecologic procedures.Journal of robotic surgery · 2020Pooled it
- Swespine in the literature: a bibliometric analysis of trends and characteristics of publications.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Review
- Juvenile lumbar disc herniation: impact of delayed diagnosis and surgical treatment on outcome in a 10-year single-center series.Acta neurochirurgica · 2026Article
- Generalisable prediction models for outcomes after lumbar spinal stenosis surgery: a model development and external validation study.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- Sex difference in outcomes and risk factors for lumbar decompressive surgery.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- Loss to follow-up after lumbar decompressive surgery: effect of collection method and perioperative factors on patient-reported outcome measures.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- Regional variability and economic impact on surgical practices for metastatic spinal disease in Europe - a survey on spine surgeons.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- Development and validation of a nomogram to predict the achievement of minimal clinically important difference following percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy.European journal of medical research · 2026Article
- Spine surgery in Denmark 2009-2024: A 15-year overview from the DaneSpine registry.Brain & spine · 2026Article
- External validation of a prediction model for disability and pain after lumbar disc herniation surgery: a prospective international registry-based cohort study.Acta orthopaedica · 2025Article
- Mapping healthcare services and practice variations in spinal care across countries: The Spine Atlas Initiative.Brain & spine · 2025Article
- Machine Learning Models for Predicting Disability and Pain Following Lumbar Disc Herniation Surgery.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Lumbar degeneration and quality of life in patients with lumbar disc herniation: a case-control long-term follow-up study.Acta orthopaedica · 2024Article
- The Finnish spine register (FinSpine): development, design, validation and utility.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2023Article
- The Norwegian registry for spine surgery (NORspine): cohort profile.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2023Article
- Review
- Validating the predictive precision of the dialogue support tool on Danish patient cohorts.North American Spine Society journal · 2023Article
- Comorbidity data collection across different spine registries: an evidence map.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2023Review
- Descriptive surgical epidemiology of pituitary adenomas for a Hispanic population in Puerto Rico.Surgical neurology international · 2023Article
- Risk Factors, Prevention, and Primary and Secondary Management of Sciatica: An Updated Overview.Cureus · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 9 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeYearly incidence of surgery for symptomatic lumbar disc herniation varies and is 29/100,000 in Sweden, 46/100,000 in Denmark and 58/100,000 in Norway. This variation was used to study whether differences in surgical incidence were associated with differences in preoperative patient characteristics as well as patient-reported outcomes.
methodsData from the national spine registers in Sweden, Denmark and Norway during 2011-2013 were pooled, and 9965 individuals, aged 18-65 years, of which 6468 had one-year follow-up data, were included in the study. Both absolute and case-mix-adjusted comparisons of the primary outcome Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the secondary outcomes EQ-5D-3L, and Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) for leg and back pain were performed. Case-mix adjustment was done for baseline age, sex, BMI, smoking, co-morbidity, duration of leg pain and preoperative value of the dependent variable.
resultsMean improvement in the outcome variables exceeded previously described minimal clinical important change in all countries. Mean (95% CI) final scores of ODI were 18 (17-18), 19 (18-20) and 15 (15-16) in Sweden, Denmark and Norway, respectively. Corresponding results of EQ-5D-3L were 0.74 (0.73-0.75), 0.73 (0.72-0.75) and 0.75 (0.74-0.76). Results of NRS leg and back pain behaved similarly. Case-mix adjustment did not alter the findings substantially.
conclusionWe found no clear association between incidence of surgery for lumbar disc herniation and preoperative patient characteristics as well as outcome, and the differences between the countries were lower than the minimal clinical important difference in all outcomes. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
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