How well can the clinician appraise the patient's perception of the severity and impact of their back problem?

Purpose: A main concern of patients with back problems is pain and its impact on function and quality of life. These are subjective phenomena, and should be probed during the clinical consultation so that the physician can ascertain the extent of the problem. This study evaluated the agreement between clinicians' and patients' independent ratings of patient status on the Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI).

Does neck pain as chief complaint influence the outcome of cervical total disc replacement?

Purpose: We investigated whether outcomes after cervical total disc replacement (cTDR) are influenced by preoperative neck pain as the chief complaint.

Methods: This was a retrospective study using data in our local spine surgery outcomes database, linked to EUROSPINE Spine Tango Registry. Patients completed questionnaires at baseline enquiring about the "chief complaint" [neck pain (NP), arm/shoulder pain (AP) or neurological deficits (ND)] and including the Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI); these were completed again at 24 months postoperatively, along with a rating of "global treatment outcome" (on a five-point scale, later dichotomized as "good" or "poor").

Validity of a single-item measure to assess leg or back pain as the predominant symptom in patients with degenerative disorders of the lumbar spine.

Purpose: Recent studies suggest that the location of predominant pain (back or leg) can be a significant predictor of the outcome of surgery for degenerative spinal disorders. However, others challenge the notion that the predominant symptom can be reliably identified. This study examined the validity of a single item used to determine the most troublesome symptom.

Back pain in patients with degenerative spine disease and intradural spinal tumor: what to treat? when to treat?

Background: Back pain is common in industrialized countries and one of the most frequent causes of work incapacity. Successful treatment is, therefore, not only important for improving the symptoms and the quality of life of these patients but also for socioeconomic reasons. Back pain is frequently caused by degenerative spine disease.

Spinal magnetic resonance imaging with reduced specific absorption rate in patients harbouring a spinal cord stimulation device - A single-centre prospective study analysing safety, tolerability and image quality.

Background: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an accepted treatment in patients with failed back surgery (FBS), complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and persistent radicular pain following surgery. In order to avoid patient hazards or device malfunction manufacturers advise to abstain from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with implanted electrodes or pulse generators.

Methods: In a prospective study, 13 patients harbouring an implanted Medtronic Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) device underwent MRI (1.