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Background Context: There is significant variability in minimal clinically important difference (MCID) criteria for lumbar spine surgery that suggests population and primary pathology specific thresholds may be required to help determine surgical success when using patient reported outcome measures (PROMs)., Purpose: The purpose of this study was to estimate MCID thresholds for 3 commonly used PROMs after surgical intervention for each of 4 common lumbar spine pathologies., Study Design/setting: Observational longitudinal study of patients from the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network (CSORN) national registry., Patient Sample: Patients undergoing surgery from 2015 to 2018 for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS; n = 856), degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS; n = 591), disc herniation (DH; n = 520) or degenerative disc disease (DDD n = 185) were included., Outcome Measures: PROMs were collected presurgery and 1-year postsurgery: the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and back and leg Numeric Pain Rating Scales (NPRS). At 1-year, patients reported whether they were 'Much better'/'Better'/'Same'/'Worse'/'Much worse' compared to before their surgery. Responses to this item were used as the anchor in analyses to determine surgical MCIDs for benefit ('Much better'/'Better') and substantial benefit ('Much better')., Methods: MCIDs for absolute and percentage change for each of the 3 PROMs were estimated using a receiving operating curve (ROC) approach, with maximization of Youden's index as primary criterion. Area under the curve (AUC) estimates, sensitivity, specificity and correct classification rates were determined. All analyses were conducted separately by pathology group., Results: MCIDs for ODI change ranged from -10.0 (DDD) to -16.9 (DH) for benefit, and -13.8 (LSS) to -22.0 (DS,DH) for substantial benefit. MCID for back and leg NPRS change were -2 to -3 for each group for benefit and -4.0 for substantial benefit for all groups on back NPRS. MCID estimates for percentage change varied by PROM and pathology group, ranging from -11.1% (ODI for DDD) to -50.0% (leg NPRS for DH) for benefit and from -40.0% (ODI for DDD) to -66.6% (leg NPRS for DH) for substantial benefit. Correct classification rates for all MCID thresholds ranged from 71% to 89% and were relatively lower for absolute vs percent change for those with high or low presurgical scores., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the use of generic MCID thresholds across pathologies in lumbar spine surgery is not recommended. For patients with relatively low or high presurgery PROM scores, MCIDs based on percentage change, rather than absolute change, appear generally preferable. These findings have applicability in clinical and research settings, and are important for future surgical prognostic work., Competing Interests: Declarations of Competing Interest One or more of the authors declare financial or professional relationships on ICMJE-TSJ disclosure forms., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background Context: The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) is the most commonly used outcome measure of functional outcome in spine surgery. The ability of the ODI to differentiate pain related functional limitation specifically related to degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is unclear., Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of the functional subsections of the ODI to differentiate the specific patient limitation(s) from symptomatic LSS and the functional impact of surgery., Study Design: Analysis of prospectively collected data from the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network (CSORN)., Patient Sample: A total of 1,497 lumbar spinal stenosis patients with a dominant complaint of neurogenic claudication, radiculopathy or back pain were identified in the CSORN registry., Outcome Measures: The ODI questionnaire version 2.0 was assessed as an outcome measure., Methods: The difference at baseline and the pre-to-post (1-year) surgical change of the ODI individual questions was assessed. Analysis of variance, two-tailed paired sample Student t test were used for statistical analysis. Cohen d was used as an index of effect size, defined as "large" when d ≥0.8., Results: The mean age at surgery was 65 (±11) years and (50.8%) of the patients were female. Preoperatively, highest functional limitations were noted for standing, lifting, walking, pain intensity and social life (mean 3.2, 2.9, 2.5, 2.9, 2.5 respectively). At 1-year follow-up, overall there was a significant improvement in all individual questions and the overall ODI (all p<.001), with similar patterns seen for each dominant complaint. The greatest effect of surgery was noted in the walking, social life and standing domains (all d≥0.81), while personal care, sitting and lifting showed the least improvement (all d≤0.51). In subgroup analyses, the overall ODI baseline scores and subsection limitations were statistically significantly higher in females, those without degenerative spondylolisthesis and those undergoing fusion, although these differences were not considered clinically significant. Preoperative differentiation of LSS specific functional limitation and postoperative changes in all subgroups was similar to the overall LSS cohort., Conclusions: The results of this study support the ability of the ODI to differentiate the self-reported pain related functional effects of neurogenic claudication, radiculopathy or back pain from LSS and changes associated with surgical intervention. Disaggregated use of the ODI could be a simple tool to aid in preoperative education regarding specific areas of pain related dysfunction and potential for improvement with LSS surgery., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background Context: In the lumbar spine osteoarthritis (LS-OA) population having surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) symptoms, a significant proportion of patients experience limited benefit following the intervention. Thus, identifying contributing factors to this is important. Individuals with OA often have multiple joint symptoms, yet this has received limited attention in this population., Purpose: Document the occurrence of joint symptoms among patients undergoing surgery for LS-OA, and investigate the influence of these symptoms on disability postsurgery., Design: Prospective study of consecutive patients followed to 12-month postsurgery., Patient Sample: Patients undergoing surgery (decompression surgery, with or without fusion) for neurogenic claudication with or without back pain due to LSS with a primary pathology diagnosis of LS-OA., Outcomes Measures: Patient self-reported: Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), completed pre- and 12-month postsurgery; and, completed presurgery, age, sex, education, smoking, comorbid conditions, opioid use, short/long-term disability, depression and anxiety symptoms, back and leg pain intensity, presence of spondylolisthesis, procedure, prior spine surgery, and joints with arthritis and "pain/stiffness/swelling most days of the month" indicated on a homunculus (a joint site count was derived)., Assessments: Height and weight, used to calculate body mass index; timed-up-and-go performance-based test., Methods: Outcome of interest was achieving a clinically important improvement (CII) in ODI by 12-month postsurgery (yes/no). The association between joint site count and achieving a CII was examined by multivariable logistic regression analyses, adjusted for other measures., Results: In all, 165 patients were included. The mean age was 67 years (range: 44-90) and 47% were female. Seventy-seven percent reported 1+ joint site other than the back, 62% reported 2+, and 25% reported 4+. Among those achieving a CII, 21% had 4+ joint sites, compared with 31% among those not achieving a CII. Adjusted analyses: Increasing joint site count was associated with increasing risk (odds ratio [OR]: 1.32, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05, 1.66) of not achieving a CII; for those with 4+ joints, adjusted probability of not achieving a CII exceeded 50%. Also associated with an increased risk of not achieving a CII was presurgery anxiety (OR: 2.97, 95% CI: 1.02, 8.65), opioid use (OR: 2.89, 95% CI: 1.07, 7.82), and worse back pain intensity score (OR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.53)., Conclusions: Multijoint involvement was highly prevalent in this LS-OA surgical sample. Its association with poorer postsurgery outcome supports a comprehensive approach to OA management and care. Knowledge of multijoint symptoms should inform patient education, shared decision-making, and recommendations for postsurgical rehabilitation and self-management strategies., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Understanding patient expectations is a critical component of patient-centered care; however, little is known about which expectation(s) are most important to patients as they relate to their sense of postoperative success., Purpose: To investigate patient's preoperative expectations of change in symptoms, function, and well-being resulting from surgical intervention and to examine the associations between sociodemographic, lifestyle, health status, and clinical characteristics with patient outcome expectations STUDY DESIGN: Observational cross-sectional study., Sample: Preoperative data from the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network national registry of patients of patients (n=4,333) undergoing surgery for degenerative spinal conditions between 2012 and 2017., Outcome Measures: Patients reported their expectations as a result of the surgery (0 [no change], 1 [somewhat better], 2 [better] or 3 [much better]) for seven items: leg/arm pain, back/neck pain, independence in everyday activities, sporting activities/recreation, general physical capacity, frequency and quality of social contacts, and mental well-being. Patients also reported the single most important change expected., Methods: Data on demographic, lifestyles, health status, clinical factors, and reasons for having surgery were also collected. Factor analysis was used to examine the multidimensionality of expectations. Multivariate linear regression was used to examine factors associated with expectations., Results: Over 80% of patients reported expectation for improvements (at least somewhat better) in all items with the exception of social contacts (75.8%). Expectations are multidimensional; a two factor structure emerged indicating two expectation dimensions (pain relief and overall functional well-being). Two expectation scores were calculated corresponding to the two dimensions (0-100), with higher scores reflecting higher expectations. The mean±standard deviation pain relief expectation score was 78.5±24.7 and the mean overall functional well-being expectation score was 69.7±24.4. In multivariate analysis, the variables associated with these dimensions either differed or differed in degree of influence. For example, higher pain and disability scores, thoracolumbar location and diagnosis of spondylolisthesis were associated with higher expectations in both dimensions, while longer disease duration was only associated with lower overall functional well-being expectations. The top three most important expected change items were pain (improvement of leg or arm pain (29.1%)/improvement in back/neck pain (26.0%)), improvement in general capacity/function (21.0%), and improvement of independence in everyday activities (15.9%). Rankings of the most important expected change were similar across sociodemographic, lifestyle, health status, and clinical variables examined., Conclusions: Our findings highlight the need to identify and address specific individual expectations as part of the shared decision-making and presurgery education process., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)