Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41641116›Full record

ArticleFujita medical journal2026

Can preoperative visual analogue scale chart patterns predict surgical outcomes in older adults with lumbar spinal stenosis? A two-center retrospective study.

Kohei Shibata, Soya Kawabata, Takehiro Michikawa, Yuki Akaike, Yukio Nakajima, Sota Nagai, Kurenai Hachiya, Takaya Imai, Hiroki Takeda, Atsushi Yoshioka and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Fujita medical journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

13 authors.

Kohei ShibataDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan.
Soya KawabataDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan.
Takehiro MichikawaDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Medicine, Toho University, Ota, Tokyo, Japan.
Yuki AkaikeDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan.
Yukio NakajimaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan.
Sota NagaiDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan.
Kurenai HachiyaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan.
Takaya ImaiDepartment of Spine and Spinal Cord Surgery, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan.
Hiroki TakedaDepartment of Spine and Spinal Cord Surgery, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan.
Atsushi YoshiokaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hachiya Orthopaedic Hospital, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
Shinjiro KanekoDepartment of Spine and Spinal Cord Surgery, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan.
Yudo HachiyaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hachiya Orthopaedic Hospital, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
Nobuyuki FujitaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: Patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) exhibit significantly different scoring patterns on the visual analogue scale (VAS) chart for low back pain (LP), buttock and lower limb pain (PL), and buttock and lower limb numbness (NL). This study investigated the usefulness of these preoperative scoring patterns on the VAS chart in predicting surgical outcomes in older adults undergoing LSS surgery. Methods: Time-course data from patients aged ≥65 years who underwent LSS surgery at two institutions were retrospectively assessed. All participants completed the Zurich Claudication Questionnaire and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire, which included the VAS chart, before surgery and at 6 months and 1 year postoperatively. Results: In total, 334 participants were evaluated. Patients with equal preoperative scores across all three scales showed the highest average postoperative reduction in the three VAS scores. By contrast, those with the highest preoperative VAS scores for LP or NL had the lowest reductions. Based on the multivariable analysis, the highest preoperative VAS scores for LP (relative risk: 2.1) and NL (relative risk: 2.1) were significantly associated with poor surgical improvement in older adults with LSS. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the potential clinical utility of the preoperative VAS chart in predicting surgical improvement in older patients with LSS. Patients with equal preoperative VAS scores for LP, PL, and NL were more likely to have favorable surgical outcomes, while those with the highest preoperative scores for LP or NL were at higher risk for poor outcomes.

Indexed as

Japanese Orthopaedic Association Back Pain Evaluation QuestionnaireLumbar spinal stenosisPatient satisfactionVisual analogue scaleZurich Claudication Questionnaire

Identifiers

PMID41641116
PMCPMC12865282

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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.