Validation of a Psychological Screening Algorithm for Predicting Spine Surgery Outcomes.

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery
• Psychology
• Orthopedics

Background:

• Psychological factors significantly influence spine surgery outcomes.
• Presurgical psychological screening (PPS) is crucial for assessing patient suitability.
• Existing screening methods aim to predict surgical success based on psychosocial risk factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a widely utilized presurgical psychological screening (PPS) algorithm.
• To determine the algorithm's effectiveness in predicting spine surgery results.
• To analyze the association between PPS components and surgical outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 603 patients underwent PPS, including interviews, psychometric testing, and medical record review.
• A PPS algorithm categorized patients into five prognosis levels (Excellent to Poor).
• Categories were grouped into Excellent, Good, and Fair to Very Poor for analysis.

Main Results:

• Patients with an Excellent prognosis achieved superior surgical outcomes.
• Patients in the Fair to Very Poor prognosis group experienced the worst outcomes.
• Specific PPS algorithm components showed a modest association with reduced surgical results.

Conclusions:

• The PPS algorithm is a valuable tool for predicting spine surgery outcomes.
• Presurgical psychological assessment can identify patients likely to benefit most or least from surgery.
• Findings have implications for refining presurgical assessments in spine surgery candidates.