TY - JOUR
T1 - Long-term quality of life after posterior cervical foraminotomy for radiculopathy
AU - Faught, Ryan W.
AU - Church, Ephraim W.
AU - Halpern, Casey H.
AU - Balmuri, Usha
AU - Attiah, Mark A.
AU - Stein, Sherman C.
AU - Dante, Stephen J.
AU - Welch, William C.
AU - Simeone, Frederick A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/3
Y1 - 2016/3
N2 - Objectives Cervical radiculopathy may cause symptoms and loss of function that can lead to a significant reduction in health related quality of life (HRQOL). As part of a comprehensive review of long-term outcomes, we examined HRQOL in a large cohort of patients undergoing posterior cervical foraminotomy (FOR) for radiculopathy. Patients and methods 338 patients who underwent FOR between 1990 and 2009 participated in a telephone interview designed to measure symptomatic and functional improvements following surgery. We also administered the EQ-5D, a standardized tool for assessing HRQOL. We analyzed this data for associations between patient and treatment characteristics, improvements in symptoms and function, and HRQOL as measured by the EQ-5D. Results Mean follow-up was 10.0 years. The average EQ-5D at follow-up was 0.81 ± 0.18, and improvements in pain, weakness and function as well as ability to return to work correlated with improved EQ-5D score (p < 0.0001). There was no correlation between length of follow-up and EQ-5D score (p = 0.980). Additionally, there was no difference between mean EQ-5D score for soft disc versus osteophyte pathology (0.84 versus 0.81, p = 0.21). Conclusion These data provide evidence that FOR for cervical radiculopathy is associated with improved HRQOL at long-term follow-up. The lack of correlation between length of follow-up and HRQOL suggests that FOR is a durable treatment option. Moreover, FOR is associated with improved HRQOL whether radiculopathy is due to soft disc or osteophyte pathology.
AB - Objectives Cervical radiculopathy may cause symptoms and loss of function that can lead to a significant reduction in health related quality of life (HRQOL). As part of a comprehensive review of long-term outcomes, we examined HRQOL in a large cohort of patients undergoing posterior cervical foraminotomy (FOR) for radiculopathy. Patients and methods 338 patients who underwent FOR between 1990 and 2009 participated in a telephone interview designed to measure symptomatic and functional improvements following surgery. We also administered the EQ-5D, a standardized tool for assessing HRQOL. We analyzed this data for associations between patient and treatment characteristics, improvements in symptoms and function, and HRQOL as measured by the EQ-5D. Results Mean follow-up was 10.0 years. The average EQ-5D at follow-up was 0.81 ± 0.18, and improvements in pain, weakness and function as well as ability to return to work correlated with improved EQ-5D score (p < 0.0001). There was no correlation between length of follow-up and EQ-5D score (p = 0.980). Additionally, there was no difference between mean EQ-5D score for soft disc versus osteophyte pathology (0.84 versus 0.81, p = 0.21). Conclusion These data provide evidence that FOR for cervical radiculopathy is associated with improved HRQOL at long-term follow-up. The lack of correlation between length of follow-up and HRQOL suggests that FOR is a durable treatment option. Moreover, FOR is associated with improved HRQOL whether radiculopathy is due to soft disc or osteophyte pathology.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.clineuro.2016.01.013
DO - 10.1016/j.clineuro.2016.01.013
M3 - Article
C2 - 26802616
AN - SCOPUS:84955162665
SN - 0303-8467
VL - 142
SP - 22
EP - 25
JO - Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery
JF - Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery
ER -