Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Decompressive surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis across the Atlantic: a comparison of preoperative MRI between matched cohorts from the US and Norway.

BACKGROUND: There are no uniform guidelines regarding when to operate for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis (LSS). As we apply findings from clinical research from one population to the next, elucidating similarities or differences provides important context for the validity of extrapolating clinical outcomes. The aim of this study was to compare the morphological severity of lumbar spinal stenosis on preoperative MRI in patients undergoing decompressive surgery in Boston, USA, and Trondheim, Norway.

METHODS: In this observational retrospective study, we compared morphological severity on MRI before surgical treatment between two propensity score-matched patient populations with single or two-level symptomatic LSS. We assessed the radiographic severity of LSS utilizing the Schizas classification (grade A to D).

RESULTS: Following propensity score matching, demographics are balanced. In the Trondheim cohort, two levels decompression were present in 36.2% of the patients vs. 41.9% in Boston, (p = 0.396). There was no significant difference in grades A to D concerning central stenosis (p = 0.075). When dichotomized in mild/moderate (A/B) and severe /extreme (C/D), there were no significant differences in the rate of levels operated for high-grade stenosis (C/D), 67.6% in the Boston group compare to 78.1% in the Trondheim group (p = 0.088).

CONCLUSIONS: Trondheim, Norway, and Boston, US, have similar radiographic thresholds of LSS for offering surgery.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app