Validating Goal Attainment in Veterans Undergoing Decompressive Laminectomy: A Preliminary Study

Although decompressive laminectomy (DL) for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a common procedure among older adults, it is unclear whether surgical definitions of success translate into patient-defined success. Using goal attainment scaling (GAS) to compare goal achievement between individuals, we investigated the relationship between surgical-defined functional recovery and achievement of personalized goals in patients who underwent DL for LSS.

Twenty-eight community-dwelling veterans scheduled to undergo DL.

Participants were interviewed over the phone to set 1-year post-DL goals within 30 days before undergoing DL. Brigham Spinal Stenosis (BSS) score, comorbidities, cognitive function, and psychological factors also were assessed. GAS and BSS were repeated 1 year after DL. GAS scores were transformed into GAS-T scores (T-score transformation) to standardize achievement between patients and GAS-T change scores to compare study variables.

Seventeen of 28 participants had successful DL outcomes by BSS standards, though none of the participants achieved all of their GAS goals, with follow-up GAS-T scores averaging 44.5 ± 16.8. All three BSS scales positively correlated with GAS-T change scores: severity change r = 0.52, P = 0.005; physical function change r = 0.51, P = 0.006; and satisfaction r = 0.70, P < 0.001. Covariate analysis revealed a negative correlation between GAS-T change score and fear-avoidance beliefs: r = -0.41, P = -0.029.

There was congruent validity between GAS and the BSS in older veterans undergoing DL for LSS. Given the need for patient-centered care in older adults, future investigations exploring GAS in larger studies that target additional pain conditions and include participants with greater demographic diversity are warranted.