Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37010607›Full record

Trial reportEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2023

Comparison of full-endoscopic and tubular-based microscopic decompression in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis: a randomized controlled trial.

Vit Kotheeranurak, Thanadol Tangdamrongtham, Guang-Xun Lin, Weerasak Singhatanadgige, Worawat Limthongkul, Wicharn Yingsakmongkol, Jin-Sung Kim, Khanathip Jitpakdee

Abstract readRandomized Controlled TrialEquivalence Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report 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, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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

31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Lumbar approaches and procedures for spinal stenosis (Neurocore-LAPS): an international survey of decompression strategies across disease extent.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 · 2026
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  18. Full-Endoscopic Spine Surgery : Its Roles and Limitations.Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society · 2025
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  20. Classification of endoscopic spine procedures.North American Spine Society journal · 2025
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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

8 authors.

Vit KotheeranurakDepartment of Orthopaedic, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.ORCID 0000-0002-9593-429X
Thanadol TangdamrongthamDepartment of Orthopedics, Queen Savang Vadhana Memorial Hospital, Sriracha, Chonburi, Thailand.ORCID 0000-0002-4215-8880
Guang-Xun LinDepartment of Orthopedics, School of Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.ORCID 0000-0002-9828-2768
Weerasak SinghatanadgigeDepartment of Orthopaedic, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.ORCID 0000-0001-7166-1381
Worawat LimthongkulDepartment of Orthopaedic, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.ORCID 0000-0002-0116-8791
Wicharn YingsakmongkolDepartment of Orthopaedic, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.ORCID 0000-0002-8784-7604
Jin-Sung KimSpine Center, Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, South Korea.ORCID 0000-0001-5086-0875
Khanathip JitpakdeeDepartment of Orthopedics, Queen Savang Vadhana Memorial Hospital, Sriracha, Chonburi, Thailand. khanathip.j@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-5955-0037

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeWe aimed to demonstrate non-inferiority in terms of functional outcomes in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis who underwent full-endoscopic decompression compared with tubular-based microscopic decompression.

methodsThis prospective, randomized controlled, non-inferiority trial included 60 patients with single-level lumbar spinal stenosis who required decompression surgery. The patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to the full-endoscopic group (FE group) or the tubular-based microscopic group (TM group). Based on intention-to-treat analysis, the primary outcome was the Oswestry Disability Index score at 24 months postoperative. The secondary outcomes included the visual analog scale (VAS) score for back and leg pain, European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) score, walking time, and patient satisfaction rate according to the modified MacNab criteria. Surgery-related outcomes were also analyzed.

resultsOf the total patients, 92% (n = 55) completed a 24-month follow-up. The primary outcomes were comparable between the two groups (p = 0.748). However, the FE group showed a statistically significant improvement in the mean VAS score for back pain at day 1 and at 6, 12, and 24 months after surgery (p < 0.05). No significant difference was observed in the VAS score for leg pain, EQ-5D score, or walking time (p > 0.05). Regarding the modified MacNab criteria, 86.7% of patients in the FE group and 83.3% in the TM group had excellent or good results at 24 months after surgery (p = 0.261). Despite the similar results in surgery-related outcomes, including operative time, radiation exposure, revision rate, and complication rate, between the two groups (p > 0.05), less blood loss and shorter length of hospital stay were observed in the FE group (p ≤ 0.001 and 0.011, respectively).

conclusionThis study suggests that full-endoscopic decompression is an alternative treatment for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis because it provides non-inferior clinical efficacy and safety compared with tubular-based microscopic surgery. In addition, it offers advantages in terms of less invasive surgery. Trial registration number (TRN): TCTR20191217001.

Indexed as

Spinal StenosisBack PainDecompression, SurgicalEndoscopyHumansLumbar VertebraeProspective StudiesQuality of LifeRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeDecompressionFull-endoscopic spine surgeryLumbar spinal stenosisMicrosurgeryMinimally invasive spine surgeryRandomized controlled trialTubular based

Identifiers

PMID37010607
PMCPMC10068229

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.