Quality of Life in Patients Undergoing Spine Surgery: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Health Services Research
• Biostatistics

Background:

• Routine collection of preoperative health-related quality of life (HRQoL) data in spine surgery patients is uncommon.
• Lack of baseline HRQoL data hinders objective outcomes analysis in clinical practice.
• Patient-reported outcome measures are crucial for tracking clinical progress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a meta-analysis of pre- and postoperative HRQoL data using common instruments.
• To establish reference values for HRQoL in patients undergoing spine surgery.
• To analyze HRQoL changes following surgical intervention for spinal conditions.

Main Methods:

• Meta-analysis of 99 articles published between 2000-2014.
• Inclusion of studies reporting EQ-5D, SF-6D, and Short Form-36 Physical Component Summary scores.
• Use of an inverse variance-weighted, random-effects model for data pooling.

Main Results:

• Baseline HRQoL scores demonstrated variability across different diagnoses and instruments.
• Significant improvement in postoperative HRQoL was observed for all diagnoses and instruments.
• Statistically significant differences in baseline utility values were noted between EQ-5D and SF-6D for lumbar conditions.

Conclusions:

• Pooled HRQoL values can serve as reference benchmarks for practitioners lacking baseline data.
• The study highlights diagnostic variations in HRQoL and discrepancies between utility instruments.
• Awareness of specific instruments used is critical when comparing outcomes research.