Objictive To evaluate the efficacy of decompression with and without fusion in the treatment of degenerative lumbar disease.
Methods We searched the Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2006), MEDLINE (1966 to April, 2006), EMBASE (1984 to April, 2006), the China Biological Medicine Database (to Dec., 2005), VIP (1989 to April, 2006) and hand-searched several related journals for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-randomized controlled trials (quasi-RCTs) involving the comparison of the outcomes between decompression with and without fusion in the treatment of degenerative lumbar disease. The quality of the included trials was assessed. RevMan 4.2.8 software was used for statistical analysis.
Results Seven studies involving 412 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis indicated that no statistically significant differences were observed between the two operative procedures in the cumulative clinical outcome (OR1.83, 95%CI 0.92, 3.41), incidence of postoperative leg pain (OR 1.04, 95%CI 0.48, 2.25), incidence of perioperative complications (OR 1.15, 95%CI 0.51, 2.60), incidence of re-operation (OR 0.68, 95%CI 0.30, 1.56) or pre and postoperative pain scores [Pre-op WMD 0.12, 95%CI (-0.44,0.68); Post-op WMD 0.08, 95%CI (-1.08,1.25)]. The only statistical significance was observed in the incidence of postoperative back pain (OR 0.25, 95%CI 0.14, 0.46). Four studies described the length of operation, the intraoperative blood loss, the duration of external fixation postoperative and the total cost in hospital, which revealed that decompression alone was superior to decompression plus fusion. Three studies described the relationships between the clinical outcome and the changes in segmental range of motion/disc height pre- and post-operatively, as well as the flexion-extension radiographs, which revealed that decompression plus fusion was superior to decompression alone.
Conclusions There are no significant differences between the two procedures in clinical outcomes, incidences of postoperative leg pain, re-operation and complications. Decompression with fusion leads to fewer patients suffering from postoperative lumbago than that of decompression alone. There is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the radiographs may predict the clinical outcomes. More high quality, large-scale randomized controlled trials are required.
Citation: HUANG Weimin,BAI Jingping,XILIN Baoleri,LI Tongxiang,HE Zusheng,WU Taixiang. Decompression With and Without Fusion in the Treatment of Degenerative Lumbar Disease: A Systematic Review. Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 2006, 06(7): 484-493. doi: Copy