Long-Term Outcomes of Surgical and Nonsurgical Management of Sciatica Secondary to a Lumbar Disc Herniation: 10 Year Results from the Maine Lumbar Spine Study

Background: Previous meta-analyses examined only the short-term differences between lidocaine and steroids vs lidocaine alone in treating lumbar degenerative diseases. Long-term outcomes (1-2 years) in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) and lumbar central spinal stenosis (LCSS) have not yet been systematically evaluated. Objective: The objective of our study was to assess quantitatively the difference in efficacy at 1 to 2 years between lidocaine alone vs lidocaine and steroids for the management of LDH or LCSS. Study Design: We conducted a meta-analysis. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane library were electronically searched up to July 22, 2016, for randomized controlled trials comparing lidocaine alone vs in combination with steroids for the treatment of LDH and LCSS. Effective pain relief (EPR), Numeric Rating Scale (NRS-11), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), opioid intake (OI), and total employed increased rate (TEIR) were the endpoints. Risk ratios (RRs) or weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, and the pooled analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.2. Results: Seven trials were included. EPR was not significantly different at 1 and 2 years, with RR = 1.08 (95% CI, 0.90-1.30; P = .39) and RR = 1.04 (95% CI, 0.92-1.18; P = .51), respectively, in patients treated with lidocaine alone vs in combination with steroids. The NRS11 was also similar at 1 and 2 years. ODI and OI were not significantly different at 1 and 2 years. A similar TEIR effect was also observed for the 2 treatments. Limitations: This meta-analysis relied on a small sample size of trials. Significant heterogeneity among studies was observed. Several significant differences in terms of age of the patients were reported in one included trial. Conclusion: This meta-analysis confirmed the similar effects associated with lidocaine alone vs in combination with steroids for the management of LDH and LCSS. Studies with longer follow-up periods are still recommended. Key words: Effective pain relief, lidocaine, long-term, lumbar central spinal stenosis, lumbar disc herniation, Numeric Rating Scale, opioid intake, Oswestry Disability Index, steroids, total employed increased rate

Download Full-text

Lumbar disc herniation surgery in adolescents and young adults

The Bone & Joint Journal ◽

10.1302/0301-620x.101b12.bjj-2019-0621.r1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 101-B (12) ◽

pp. 1534-1541 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tobias Lagerbäck ◽

Hans Möller ◽

Paul Gerdhem

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Lumbar Spine ◽

Lumbar Disc Herniation ◽

Disc Herniation ◽

Lumbar Disc ◽

Adolescents And Young Adults ◽

Lumbar Spine Surgery ◽

Patient Reported

AimsThe purpose of this study was to investigate the risk of additional surgery in the lumbar spine and to describe long-term changes in patient-reported outcomes after surgery for lumbar disc herniation in adolescents and young adults.Patients and MethodsWe conducted a retrospective study design on prospectively collected data from a national quality register. The 4537 patients were divided into two groups: adolescents (≤ 18 years old, n = 151) and young adults (19 to 39 years old, n = 4386). The risk of additional lumbar spine surgery was surveyed for a mean of 11.4 years (6.0 to 19.3) in all 4537 patients. Long-term patient-reported outcomes were available at a mean of 7.2 years (5.0 to 10.0) in up to 2716 patients and included satisfaction, global assessment for leg and back pain, Oswestry Disability Index, visual analogue scale for leg and back pain, EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D), and 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) Mental Component Summary and Physical Component Summary scores. Statistical analyses were performed with Cox proportional hazard regression, chi-squared test, McNemar’s test, Welch–Satterthwaite t-test, and Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test.ResultsAny type of additional lumbar spine surgery was seen in 796 patients (18%). Surgery for lumbar disc herniation accounted for more than half of the additional surgeries. The risk of any additional surgery was 0.9 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.6 to 1.4) and the risk of additional lumbar disc herniation surgery was 1.0 (0.6 to 1.7) in adolescents compared with the young adult group. Both age groups improved their patient-reported outcome data after surgery (all p < 0.001). Changes between short- (mean 1.9 years (1.0 to 2.0)) and long-term follow-up (mean 7.2 years (5.0 to 10.0)) were small.ConclusionThe risk of any additional lumbar spine surgery and additional lumbar disc herniation surgery was similar in adolescents and young adults. All patient-reported outcomes improved from preoperative to the short-term follow-up, while no likely clinically important differences between the short- and long-term follow-up were seen within both groups. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2019;101-B:1534–1541

Download Full-text