ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2025
Decompression only versus decompression plus fusion for spinal canal stenosis of adjacent segment during primary single-segment lumbar fusion surgery.
Article in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Standing-to-horizontal imaging reveals greater translation than flexion-extension radiographs for assessing lumbar instability in lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis.North American Spine Society journal · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe aim was to investigate if spinal canal stenosis in the adjacent segment of a primary single-segment fusion surgery should be treated by decompression only or decompression plus fusion.
methodsThis study is a retrospective cohort study. Inclusion criteria were all adult patients with spinal canal stenosis without relevant foraminal stenosis in the adjacent segment when undergoing primary single-segment lumbar fusion surgery with a followup of at least 1 year. One group was treated with decompression only of the adjacent segment, while the other group underwent decompression plus fusion of the adjacent segment. The primary outcome was the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) pre- and postoperatively. Secondary outcomes were visual analogue scale (VAS) back/leg and revision surgery.
resultsThere were no differences in baseline data when comparing the decompression only group (n = 53) with the decompression plus fusion group (n = 68) regarding age, gender, body mass index, American Society of Anaesthesiologists classification, Frailty Index, and smoking. The change of ODI from pre- to postoperatively at 3 months was significantly better for the decompression only group (- 28 [IQR 20] versus - 22 [IQR 20], p = 0.047, linear regression coefficient 7 [95% confidence interval 1.2-12.3], p = 0.02). This difference is diluted to similar ODI values at final followup after 15 (IQR 15) months. Other clinical outcomes and revision rates were similar in both groups.
conclusionsPatients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis without foraminal stenosis in the adjacent segment show no significant difference with adjacent segment decompression versus additional fusion when undergoing a primary single-level fusion. Decompression only of the adjacent segment could potentially be favored to opt for a slightly better short-term clinical outcome after 3 months.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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Registered trials
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