Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38653826›Full record

ArticleActa neurochirurgica2024

Postoperative complications after surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis, assessment using two different data sources.

Ole Kristian Alhaug, Filip C Dolatowski, Simran Kaur, Greger Lønne

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Acta neurochirurgica, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing 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

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Risk for clinical venous thromboembolism and major bleeding after surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis: a retrospective matched register-based cohort study with 462,533 individuals.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
    Article
  2. The long-term clinical course of non-surgically treated lumbar spinal stenosis: 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 · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Ole Kristian AlhaugThe Research Center for Age-Related Functional Decline and Disease, Innlandet Hospital Trust, PO Box 68, N-2313, Ottestad, Norway. olekralhaug@hotmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-0839-9031
Filip C DolatowskiOrthopaedic Department, Oslo University Hospital, PO Box 4956, N-0424, Oslo, Norway.
Simran KaurOrthopedic Department, Martina Hansens Hospital, Dønskiveien 8, 1346, Gjettum, Norway.
Greger LønneInnlandet Hospital Trust, PO Box 104, N-2381, Brumunddal, Norway.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeLumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a prevalent disorder, and surgery for LSS is a common procedure. Postoperative complications occur after any surgery and impose costs for society and costs and additional morbidity for patients. Since complications are relatively rare, medical registries of large populations may provide valuable knowledge. However, recording of complications in registries can be incomplete. To better estimate the true prevalence of complications after LSS surgery, we reviewed two different sources of data and recorded complications for a sample of Norwegian LSS patients.

methods474 patients treated surgically for LSS during 2015 and 2016 at four hospitals reported to a national spine registry (NORspine). Postoperative complications were recorded by patients in NORspine, and we cross-referenced complications documented in NORspine with the patients´ electronic patient records (EPR) to re-test the complication rates. We performed descriptive statistics of complication rates using the two different data sources above, and analyzed the association between postoperative complications and clinical outcome with logistic regression.

resultsThe mean (95%CI) patient age was 66.3 (65.3-67.2) years, and 254 (53.6%) were females. All patients were treated with decompression, and 51 (10.7%) received an additional fusion during the index surgery. Combining the two data sources, we found a total rate for postoperative complications of 22.4%, the NORspine registry reported a complication rate of 15.6%, and the EPR review resulted in a complication rate of 16.0%. However, the types of complications were inconsistent across the two data sources. According to NORspine, the frequency of reoperation within 90 days was 0.9% and according to EPR 3.4%. The rates of wound infection were for NORspine 3.1% and EPR review 2.1%. There was no association between postoperative complication and patient reported outcome.

conclusionPostoperative complications occurred in 22% of LSS patients. The frequency of different postoperative complications differed between the two data sources.

Indexed as

Decompression, SurgicalLumbar VertebraePostoperative ComplicationsRegistriesSpinal FusionSpinal StenosisAgedFemaleHumansInformation SourcesMaleMiddle AgedNorwayData accuracyElectronic patient recordLumbar spinal stenosisPostoperative complicationsSpine registry

Identifiers

PMID38653826
PMCPMC11039491

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.