Trial reportOrthopaedic surgery2022
Effect of Duration of Symptoms on the Clinical and Functional Outcomes of Lumbar Microdiscectomy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in Orthopaedic surgery, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of symptom duration on the outcomes of lumbar discectomy for radicular pain secondary to lumbar disc herniation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.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 · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis on surgery for lumbar disc herniation: optimal timing of surgery, return to work and outcomes compared with conservative management.Brain & spine · 2026Article
- Answer to the Letter to the Editor of J. Li, et al. concerning "The effect of symptom duration on the outcomes of lumbar discectomy for radicular pain secondary to lumbar disc herniation: a systematic review and meta-analysis" by Low WX, et al. (Eur Spine J [2025]; doi: 10.1007/s00586-025-08912-y).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 · 2025Article
- The Duration of Symptoms Influences Outcomes After Lumbar Microdiscectomies: A Michigan Spine Surgery Improvement Collaborative.Global spine journal · 2025Article
- Depressed patients with greater symptom duration before MIS-TLIF do not report inferior outcomes.Acta neurochirurgica · 2023Article
- Assessment of early functional outcome of lumbar discectomy in Soba and Future hospitals, Khartoum, Sudan 2021.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe objective is to determine whether the preoperative duration of symptoms can affect the clinical and functional outcomes after microdiscectomy.
methodThis study is a single blind randomized controlled trial with level 1 evidence. From 3 January 2016 to 15 February 2017, 122 adult patients with symptomatic lumbar disc herniation were divided randomly by computer system into three groups were treated by microdiscectomy at 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months from onset of symptoms respectively. Ninety-seven patients, age (19-47) years, 42 males and 55 females, were analyzed at the end of this study with 3 years of follow up. Primary outcome measures are Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Roland-Morris Questionnaire (RMQ) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for back pain and leg pain. Secondary outcome measures are post-operative complications, length of hospital stay and time of return to daily activities.
resultsThere was significant difference in VAS for back pain among study groups (P = 0.002) at 2 weeks). There were significant differences in VAS for leg pain among study groups (P < 0.001) at 2 weeks and at 3 months (P = 0.003). There was significant difference in ODI among study groups at 2 weeks, 3, 6 months, 1, 2 and 3 years (P = 0.037 at 2 weeks and P < 0.001 at other periods of assessments) and we found that the mean of ODI in group 6 weeks was better than group 3 months and this was better than group 6 months in all periods of assessment. Group 6 weeks was better than group 3 months and this was better than group 6 months in postoperative improvements regarding RMQ with significant difference at 2 weeks postoperatively (P < 0.001) and at 3 months postoperatively (P < 0.001).
conclusionDuration of preoperative symptoms, in patients with lumbar disc herniation, can affect the clinical and functional outcomes after lumbar microdiscectomy as the shorter duration of symptoms resulted in better postoperative clinical and functional outcomes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.