Comparative effectiveness research in spine surgery

Degenerative spine disorders are a significant cause of patient morbidity and are a prominent factor in healthcare costs in many countries. Pressure for healthcare cost control and the desire for improved outcomes have led to an expanding emphasis on evidence-based medicine methodologies in spine research. Determination of the optimal treatment paradigm for many common degenerative spinal disorders has proven difficult and comparative effectiveness research is increasingly being employed to examine these clinical dilemmas. The Swedish Spine Registry and the Registry of the Scoliosis Research Society are two of the long-standing databases compiling data for spine patients. Spine surgery professional organizations have recently taken a prominent role in assembling procedural- and diagnosis-based registries, specifically addressing therapeutic outcomes for spine patients. As healthcare systems continue to evolve, comparative effectiveness research driven by spine registries may better elucidate the appropriate clinical choices for patients with these challenging illnesses.