Patient satisfaction with cluneal nerve entrapment surgery

Area of Science:

• Pain Management
• Neurosurgery
• Quality of Life Assessment

Background:

• Low back pain (LBP) can stem from cluneal nerve entrapment.
• Surgical intervention is a treatment option for this condition.
• Patient satisfaction is a key outcome measure for surgical success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate patient satisfaction following surgery for superior or middle cluneal nerve entrapment.
• To compare postoperative outcomes with preoperative patient expectations.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 22 patients with unilateral cluneal nerve entrapment underwent surgery.
• Preoperative and 6-month postoperative Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) for LBP, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and EuroQOL 5-dimension, 5-level (EQ-5D-5L) scores were collected.
• Outcomes were analyzed against patient expectations.

Main Results:

• All 22 patients experienced LBP amelioration with significant improvements in NRS, ODI, and EQ-5D-5L scores post-surgery.
• Postoperative satisfaction scores (NRS range 7-10, mean 8.8) indicated pain relief exceeded expectations.
• However, postoperative ODI scores were significantly higher than patients' preoperative expectations (p < 0.05).
• A moderate correlation was found between NRS, ODI, and patient satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• Surgery for cluneal nerve entrapment leads to significant pain reduction and functional improvement.
• While pain relief often surpasses expectations, functional disability may be perceived as higher than initially anticipated.
• Overall patient satisfaction with the surgical outcome for cluneal nerve entrapment is considered acceptable.