Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34114106›Full record

SynthesisEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2021

The association between pain scores and disc height change following discectomy surgery in lumbar disc herniation patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Xiaolong Chen, Harvinder S Sandhu, Jose Vargas Castillo, Ashish D Diwan

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis 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, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Observational
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  11. Full-endoscopic foraminotomy in low-grade degenerative and isthmic spondylolisthesis: a patient-specific tailored approach.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 · 2023
    Article
  12. Proteomic comparison between physiological degeneration and needle puncture model of disc generation disease.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 · 2022
    Article
  13. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Xiaolong ChenSpine Labs, St. George and Sutherland Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Level 3, WR Pitney Building, Sydney, NSW, 2217, Australia.
Harvinder S SandhuSpinal Surgical Service, Hospital for Special Surgery, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, USA.
Jose Vargas CastilloSpine Service, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, St. George Hospital Campus, Sydney, NSW, 2217, Australia.
Ashish D DiwanSpine Labs, St. George and Sutherland Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Level 3, WR Pitney Building, Sydney, NSW, 2217, Australia. a.diwan@spine-service.org.ORCID 0000-0003-1037-8421

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo evaluate the impact of discectomy on disc height (DH) in lumbar disc herniation (LDH) patients following discectomy surgery and address the association of DH change with pain score change.

methodsWe searched three online databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies. In LDH patients, eligible for discectomy surgery, the changes in pre- and post-operative back and/or leg pain score and DH and/or disc height index (DHI) were considered as primary outcomes. Standardize mean difference (SMD) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were evaluated. The GRADE approach was used to summarize the strength of evidence.

resultsTwo RCTs and sixteen observational studies were included in the analysis of 893 LDH patients undergoing discectomy surgery. The mean overall follow-up was 211 weeks. There was a statistically significant reduction in DH (14.4% reduction: SMD =  -0.74 (95% CI =  -0.86 to -0.61)) and DHI (11.5% reduction: SMD =  -0.81 (95% CI =  -0.97 to -0.65)) following discectomy surgery. There was a significant relationship between the reduction in DH and decrease in back pain score (r = 0.68, (95% CI = 0.07-1.30), p = 0.034) after discectomy surgery. No significant relationship between DHI change and decrease in clinical pain scores (back and leg pain) could be established.

conclusionDiscectomy surgery produces significant and quantifiable reductions in DH and DHI. Additionally, the reduction in DH is responsible for the decrease in back pain scores post discectomy, but further studies will improve understanding and aid preoperative counselling.

Indexed as

Diskectomy, PercutaneousIntervertebral Disc DisplacementBack PainDiskectomyEndoscopyHumansLumbar VertebraePain MeasurementTreatment OutcomeDiscectomyDisc heightLumbar disc herniationMeta-analysisMeta-regressionPain score

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.