Treatment of lumbar disc herniation with radiculopathy. Clinical practice guidelines endorsed by The Polish Society of Spinal Surgery

Outpatient Spine Procedures in Poland: Clinical Outcomes, Safety, Complications, and Technical Insights into an Ambulatory Spine Surgery Center

PURPOSE

This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of spine procedures performed in an ambulatory spine surgery unit in Poland.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We conducted a retrospective analysis of 318 patients who underwent ambulatory spine surgery between 2018 and 2021, with procedures including microdiscectomy (MLD), anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), endoscopic interbody fusion (endoLIF), posterior endoscopic cervical discectomy (PECD), interlaminar endoscopic lumbar discectomy IELD, and transforaminal endoscopic lumbar discectomy (TELD). Patient data were analyzed for pre-operative and post-operative visual analog scale (VAS) scores.

RESULTS

The findings indicated that outpatient techniques were safe and effective, with a 2.83% complication rate. All procedures significantly improved VAS scores under short-term observation, and core outcome measurement index (COMI) scores under long-term observation.

CONCLUSIONS

Ambulatory spine surgery represents a relatively new approach in Poland, with only a select few centers currently offering this type of service. Outpatient spine surgery is a safe, effective, and cost-effective option for patients requiring basic spine surgeries.

Analysis of Conservative Treatment Trends for Lumbar Disc Herniation with Radiculopathy in Korea: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

This study aimed to analyze the trends in conservative treatment and associated medical costs for lumbar intervertebral disc disorders with radiculopathy in Korea. This population-based cross-sectional study included patients aged ≥ 20 years with at least one "intervertebral disc disorder with radiculopathy" claim (Korean Standard Classification of Diseases (KCD)-7 code: M511) who sought treatment from tertiary, general, or Korean Medicine hospitals or clinics between 2010 and 2019 and whose data were extracted from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service National Patients Sample database. Intervention frequency, ratio, and medical costs, including medication, were analyzed. The number of patients with lumbar intervertebral disc disorders and radiculopathy undergoing conservative treatment increased by >30%, and medical costs increased from USD 3,342,907 to USD 5,600,456 during the 10-year period. The non-surgical treatments mainly used were medication and physiotherapy, and the most commonly prescribed medication was non-opioid analgesics. Meanwhile, the number of patients who used nerve plexus and root and ganglion nerve blocks showed the most significant increase. In conclusion, the number of patients with radiculopathy who received nerve blocks, particularly nerve plexus and root and ganglion nerve blocks, and related expenditure increased, implying a gradual shift in medical decisions from systemic pain reduction to specific and targeted pain treatments. Future studies and clinical practice guidelines may require further inspection of real-world practice to advise optimal treatment choices for an effective treatment plan.

Perioperative Hidden Blood Loss in Lumbar Disk Herniation Patients With Percutaneous Endoscopic Transforaminal Discectomy and Influencing Factors

STUDY DESIGN

This was a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to evaluate hidden blood loss (HBL) and its influencing factors in lumbar disk herniation (LDH) patients treated with percutaneous endoscopic transforaminal discectomy (PETD).

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

PETD is a minimally invasive spine surgery and is widely used to treat LDH. It is generally believed that there is less bleeding during PETD. However, HBL during the perioperative period is always ignored.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

From January 2018 to March 2021, 74 LDH patients treated with PETD was selected. The patient's sex, age, height, weight, previous medical history (hypertension and diabetes) and other basic information were recorded. The preoperative fibrinogen (FIB) level, activated partial thromboplastin time and prothrombin time were recoded. The hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelet immediately after admission and the next day postoperative were recorded. The surgical time, intraoperative blood loss, intervertebral disk degeneration grade and soft tissue thickness of the PETD approach were recorded. The total blood loss was calculated according to the Gross formula, and then HBL was calculated based on total blood loss and visible blood loss (VBL). The influencing factors were analyzed by single factor correlation analysis and multivariate linear regression analysis.

RESULTS

Among the 74 patients, there were 34 males (20-68 y old) and 40 females (26-75 y old). The mean amount of VBL was (85.04±26.53) mL and HBL was (341.04±191.15) mL. There were statistically significant differences between HBL and VBL (P=0.000). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that sex (P=0.000), disk degeneration grade (P=0.000), preoperative FIB level (P=0.022) and preoperative platelet (P=0.026) were independent risk factors that contributed to HBL, but age (P=0.870), BMI (P=0.480), hypertension (P=0.867), diabetes (P=0.284), soft tissue thickness (P=0.701), preoperative prothrombin time (P=0.248) and preoperative activated partial thromboplastin time (P=0.521) were not.

CONCLUSIONS

There was a large amount of HBL during the perioperative period of PETD in patients with LDH. Sex, disk degeneration grade, preoperative FIB level and preoperative platelet are the independent risk factors of HBL in the perioperative period of PETD. More attention should be paid to the patients with risk factors to ensure perioperative safety.

Emerging Issues Questioning the Current Treatment Strategies for Lumbar Disc Herniation

Lumbar disc herniation is among the common phenotypes of degenerative lumbar spine diseases, significantly affecting patients' quality of life. The practice pattern is diverse. Choosing conservative measures or surgical treatments is still controversial in some areas. For those who have failed conservative treatment, surgery with or without instrumentation is recommended, causing significant expenditures and frustrating complications, that should not be ignored. In the article, we performed a literature review and summarized the evidence by subheadings to unravel the cons of surgical intervention for lumbar disc herniation. There are tetrad critical issues about surgical treatment of lumbar disc herniation, i.e., favorable natural history, insufficient evidence in a recommendation of fusion surgery for patients, metallosis, and implant removal. Firstly, accumulating evidence reveals immune privilege and auto-immunity hallmarks of human lumbar discs within the closed niche. Progenitor cells within human discs further expand the capacity with the endogenous repair. Clinical watchful follow-up studies with repeated diagnostic imaging reveal spontaneous resolution for lumbar disc herniation, even calcified tissues. Secondly, emerging evidence indicates long-term complications of lumbar fusion, such as adjacent segment disease, pseudarthrosis, implant failure, and sagittal spinal imbalance, which get increasing attention. Thirdly, systemic and local reactions (metallosis) for metal instrumentation have been noted with long-term health concerns and toxicity. Fourthly, the indications and timing for spinal implant removal have not reached a consensus. Other challenging issues include postoperative lumbar stiffness. The review provided evidence from a negative perspective for surgeons and patients who attempt to choose surgical treatment. Collectively, the emerging underlying evidence questions the benefits of traditional surgery for patients with lumbar disc herniation. Therefore, the long-term effects of surgery should be closely observed. Surgical decisions should be made prudently for each patient.

Efficacy of DiscoGel in Treatment of Degenerative Disc Disease: A Prospective 1-Year Observation of 67 Patients

Patients with degenerative disc disease may suffer from chronic lumbar discogenic (DP) or radicular leg (RLP) pain. Minimally invasive DiscoGel therapy involves the percutaneous injection of an ethanol gel into the degenerated disk's nucleus pulposus. This paper compares the 1-year outcome of such treatment in DP and RLP patients. We operated on 67 patients (49 men and 18 women) aged 20-68 years (mean age 46 ± 11 years) with DP (n = 45) and RLP (n = 22), of at least 6-8 weeks duration, with no adverse effects. We evaluated the treatment outcome with Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS). A year after the ethanol gel injection, in the DP cohort, COMI and VAS dropped by 66% (6.40 vs. 2.20) and 53% (6.33 vs. 2.97), respectively. For the RLP patients, the corresponding values dropped 48% (7.05 vs. 3.68) and 54% (6.77 vs. 3.13). There were no differences between the cohorts in COMI and VAS at the follow-up end. Six months into the study, 74% of DP and 81% of RLP patients did not use any analgesics. Ethanol gel therapy can be effective for many patients. Moreover, its potential failure does not exclude surgical treatment options.

Are clinical practice guidelines for low back pain interventions of high quality and updated? A systematic review using the AGREE II instrument

BACKGROUND

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) provide recommendations for practice, but the proliferation of CPGs issued by multiple organisations in recent years has raised concern about their quality. The aim of this study was to systematically appraise CPGs quality for low back pain (LBP) interventions and to explore inter-rater reliability (IRR) between quality appraisers. The time between systematic review search and publication of CPGs was recorded.

METHODS

Electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, PEDro, TRIP), guideline organisation databases, websites, and grey literature were searched from January 2016 to January 2020 to identify GPCs on rehabilitative, pharmacological or surgical intervention for LBP management. Four independent reviewers used the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) tool to evaluate CPGs quality and record the year the CPGs were published and the year the search strategies were conducted.

RESULTS

A total of 21 CPGs met the inclusion criteria and were appraised. Seven (33%) were broad in scope and involved surgery, rehabilitation or pharmacological intervention. The score for each AGREE II item was: Editorial Independence (median 67%, interquartile range [IQR] 31-84%), Scope and Purpose (median 64%, IQR 22-83%), Rigour of Development (median 50%, IQR 21-72%), Clarity and Presentation (median 50%, IQR 28-79%), Stakeholder Involvement (median 36%, IQR 10-74%), and Applicability (median 11%, IQR 0-46%). The IRR between the assessors was nearly perfect (interclass correlation 0.90; 95% confidence interval 0.88-0.91). The median time span was 2 years (range, 1-4), however, 38% of the CPGs did not report the coverage dates for systematic searches.

CONCLUSIONS

We found methodological limitations that affect CPGs quality. In our opinion, a universal database is needed in which guidelines can be registered and recommendations dynamically developed through a living systematic reviews approach to ensure that guidelines are based on updated evidence.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

1 TRIAL REGISTRATION: REGISTRATION PROSPERO DETAILS: CRD42019127619 .

Use of Neurodynamic or Orthopedic Tension Tests for the Diagnosis of Lumbar and Lumbosacral Radiculopathies: Study of the Diagnostic Validity

BACKGROUND

Lumbar radiculopathy is a nerve root disorder whose correct diagnosis is essential. The objective of the present study was to analyze the reliability diagnostic validity of eight neurodynamic and/or orthopedic tension tests using magnetic resonance imaging as the Gold Standard.

METHODS

An epidemiological study of randomized consecutive cases which was observational, descriptive, transversal, double blinded and was conducted following the Standards for Reporting Diagnostic accuracy studies (STARD) declaration. The sample size was 864 participants. Internal and external validity (CI = 95%) and reliability, were calculated for all tests performed independently. The diagnostic validity of the combined and multiple tests in parallel was also calculated.

RESULTS

The analysis indicated that only two tests performed independently had external validity, but neither had reliability or precision. The Straight Leg Raise test and the Bragard test performed in a multiple parallel way showed high sensitivity (97,40%), high negative predictive value (PV- 96,64%) and external validity (Likelihood Ratio- 0,05). The combined test of the Slump test and the Dejerine's triad had internal and external validity.

CONCLUSIONS

The Straight Leg Raise test and the Bragard test performed in a multiple parallel way and the combined test of the Slump Test and the Dejerine's triad have clinical validity to discard lumbar or lumbar-sacral radiculopathy.

Diagnostic accuracy of diagnostic imaging for lumbar disc herniation in adults with low back pain or sciatica is unknown; a systematic review

Main text

We aim to summarize the available evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of imaging (index test) compared to surgery (reference test) for identifying lumbar disc herniation (LDH) in adult patients.For this systematic review we searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL (June 2017) for studies that assessed the diagnostic accuracy of imaging for LDH in adult patients with low back pain and surgery as the reference standard. Two review authors independently selected studies, extracted data and assessed risk of bias. We calculated summary estimates of sensitivity and specificity using bivariate analysis, generated linked ROC plots in case of direct comparison of diagnostic imaging tests and assessed the quality of evidence using the GRADE-approach.We found 14 studies, all but one done before 1995, including 940 patients. Nine studies investigated Computed Tomography (CT), eight myelography and six Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The prior probability of LDH varied from 48.6 to 98.7%. The summary estimates for MRI and myelography were comparable with CT (sensitivity: 81.3% (95%CI 72.3-87.7%) and specificity: 77.1% (95%CI 61.9-87.5%)). The quality of evidence was moderate to very low.

Conclusions

The diagnostic accuracy of CT, myelography and MRI of today is unknown, as we found no studies evaluating today's more advanced imaging techniques. Concerning the older techniques we found moderate diagnostic accuracy for all CT, myelography and MRI, indicating a large proportion of false positives and negatives.

Diagnosis of Compressed Nerve Root in Lumbar Disc Herniation Patients by Surface Electromyography

OBJECTIVE

To establish a logistic regression model using surface electromyography (SEMG) parameters for diagnosing the compressed nerve root at L₅ or S₁ level in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH).

METHODS

This study recruited 24 patients with L₅ nerve root compression and 23 patients with S₁ nerve root compression caused by LDH from May 2014 to May 2016. SEMG signals from the bilateral tibialis anterior and lateral gastrocnemius were measured. The root mean square (RMS), the RMS peak time, the mean power frequency (MPF), and the median frequency (MF) were analyzed. The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity values were calculated separately. The areas under the curve (AUC) of the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the kappa value were used to evaluate the accuracy of the SEMG diagnostic model.

RESULTS

The accuracy of the SEMG model ranged from 85.71% to 100%, with an average of 93.57%. The sensitivity, specificity, AUC, and kappa value of the logistic regression model were 0.98 ± 0.05, 0.92 ± 0.09, 0.95 ± 0.04 (P = 0.006), and 0.87 ± 0.11, respectively (P = 0.001). The final diagnostic model was: P=1-11+ey; y = 10.76 - (5.95 × TA_RMS Ratio) - (0.38 × TA_RMS Peak Time Ratio) - (5.44 × 44 × LG_RMS Peak Time Ratio). L₅ nerve root compression is diagnosed when P < 0.5 and S₁ nerve root compression when P ≥ 0.5.

CONCLUSIONS

The logistic regression model developed in this study showed high diagnostic accuracy in detecting the compressed nerve root (L₅ and S₁ ) in these patients with LDH.

Surgical versus non-operative treatment for lumbar disc herniation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effects of surgical versus non-operative treatment on the physical function and safety of patients with lumbar disc herniation.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, EBSCO, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database were searched from initiation to 15 May 2017.

METHODS

Randomized controlled trials that evaluated surgical versus non-operative treatment for patients with lumbar disc herniation were selected. The primary outcomes were pain and side-effects. Secondary outcomes were function and health-related quality of life. A random effects model was used to calculate the pooled mean difference with 95% confidence interval.

RESULTS

A total of 19 articles that involved 2272 participants met the inclusion criteria. Compared with non-operative treatment, surgical treatment was more effective in lowering pain (short term: mean difference = -0.94, 95% confidence interval = -1.87 to -0.00; midterm: mean difference = -1.59, 95% confidence interval = -2.24 to -9.94), improving function (midterm: mean difference = -7.84, 95% confidence interval = -14.00 to -1.68; long term: mean difference = -12.21, 95% confidence interval = -23.90 to -0.52) and quality of life. The 36-item Short-Form Health Survey for physical functions (short term: mean difference = 6.25, 95% confidence interval = 0.43 to 12.08) and bodily pain (short term: mean difference = 5.42, 95% confidence interval = 0.40 to 10.45) was also utilized. No significant difference was observed in adverse events (mean difference = 0.82, 95% confidence interval = 0.28 to 2.38).

CONCLUSION

Low-quality evidence suggested that surgical treatment is more effective than non-operative treatment in improving physical functions; no significant difference was observed in adverse events. No firm recommendation can be made due to instability of the summarized data.

Increased local expressions of CX3CL1 and CCL2 are related to clinical severity in lumbar disk herniation patients with sciatic pain

Background

Chemokines have been identified to be involved in the modulation of pain through both peripheral and central mechanisms. However, the role of chemokines in lumbar disk herniation (LDH) with sciatic pain remains unknown.

Objective

The current study was performed to explore the expression of two most commonly studied chemokines CX3CL1 and CCL2 and assess their associations with clinical severity in LDH patients with sciatic pain.

Methods

The soft tissues around nerve root (STANR), annulus fibrosus (AF), and nucleus pulposus (NP) biopsies were obtained from 36 LDH patients with chronic sciatic pain and 10 scoliosis patients (painless controls). The serum and local expressions of CX3CL1 and CCL2 were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot analysis, respectively. The visual analog scale (VAS) scores for low back pain and lower extremity pain and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores were recorded on the day of hospital admission to evaluate the clinical severity. LDH patients with sciatic pain were divided into severe pain (SP) group (VAS ≥7; n=18) and mild-to-moderate pain (M-MP) group (VAS <7; n=18) for lower extremity pain.

Results

Local expressions instead of CX3CL1 and CCL2 in STANR, AF, and NP were significantly higher in the SP group than in M-MP compared with scoliosis painless group. Expressions of both CX3CL1 and CCL2 in STANR and AF were positively correlated with VAS scores for lower extremity and for low back pain, respectively. In addition, CX3CL1 and CCL2 expressions in STANR were negatively associated with JOA scores. There were no significant differences of serum CX3CL1 and CCL2 levels among SP group, M-MP group, and scoliosis painless group.

Conclusion

Both CX3CL1 and CCL2 may play important roles in maintaining pain in LDH patients. Local blockade of CX3CL1 and CCL2 in LDH patients with persistent pain deserves further intensive study.