Objective To assess the efficacy of caudal epidural steroid or saline injection in chronic lumbar radiculopathy in the short (6 weeks), intermediate (12 weeks), and long term (52 weeks).<p> <p>Design Multicentre, blinded, randomised controlled trial. <p>Setting Outpatient multidisciplinary back clinics of five Norwegian hospitals. <p>Participants Between October 2005 and February 2009, 461 ...

<p>Background: The EuroQol EQ-5D is one of the most widely researched and applied patient-reported outcome measures worldwide. The original EQ-5D-3L and more recent EQ-5D-5L include three and five response categories respectively. Evidence from healthy and sick populations shows that the additional two response categories improve measurement properties but there has not been a concurrent comparison ...

Background We aim to investigate associations between preoperative radiological findings of lumbar foraminal stenosis with clinical outcomes after posterior microsurgical decompression in patients with predominantly central lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).<p> <p>Methods The study was an additional analysis in the NORDSTEN Spinal Stenosis Trial. In total, 230 men and 207 women (mean age 66.8 (SD ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is a frequent cause of spinal cord dysfunction, and surgical treatment is considered safe and effective. Long-term results after surgery are limited. This study investigated long-term clinical outcomes through data from the Norwegian registry for spine surgery.<p> <p>METHODS: Patients operated at the university hospitals serving ...

Background - The Norwegian registry for spine surgery (NORspine) is a national clinical quality registry which has recorded more than 10,000 operations for degenerative conditions of the cervical spine since 2012. Registries are large observational cohorts, at risk for attrition bias. We therefore aimed to examine whether clinical outcomes differed between respondents and non-respondents to standardized ...

Purpose - To review and describe the development, methods and cohort of the lumbosacral part of the Norwegian registry for spine surgery (NORspine).<p> <p>Methods - NORspine was established in 2007. It is government funded, covers all providers and captures consecutive cases undergoing operations for degenerative disorders. Patients’ participation is voluntary and requires informed consent. A set ...

Background: Identification of prognostic factors for persistent pain and disability are important for better understanding of the clinical course of chronic unilateral lumbar radiculopathy and to assist clinical decision-making. There is a lack of scientific evidence concerning prognostic factors. The aim of this study was to identify clinically relevant predictors for outcome at 52 weeks. <p>Methods: ...

Objective - The aim was to investigate the association between postoperative dural sac cross-sectional area (DSCA) after decompressive surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis and clinical outcome. Furthermore, to investigate if there is a minimum threshold for how extensive a posterior decompression needs to be to achieve a satisfactory clinical result.<p> <p>Summary of Background Data - There is ...

Objectives To assess the odds for not returning to work (non-RTW) 1 year after treatment among patients who had applied for or were planning to apply for disability pension (DP-applicant) prior to an operation for degenerative disorders of the lumbar spine.<p> <p>Methods This population-based cohort study from the Norwegian Registry for Spine surgery included 26 688 cases operated for ...

Study Design - An observational multicenter study.<p> <p>Summary of Background Data - Return to work (RTW) is increasingly used to assess the standard, benefit, and quality of health care.<p> <p>Objective - The aim of this study was to evaluate sick leave patterns among patients undergoing surgery for cervical radiculopathy and identify predictors of successful RTW using two nationwide ...