The rapid increase in spinal stenosis surgeries, coupled with substantial complication rates and geographic variations, underscores the need for further comparative effectiveness research.
A rapid increase in surgery rates for spinal stenosis was identified over a 14-year period. The wide geographic variations and substantial complication rate from this elective surgical procedure (partly related to patient age) suggest a need for more information on the relative efficacy of surgical and nonsurgical treatments for this condition. The risks and benefits of particular surgical procedures for specific clinical and demographic subgroups as well as individual patient preferences regarding surgical risks and possible outcomes should also be evaluated further. These issues are likely to become increasingly important with the aging of the US population.
Ciol et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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