Lumbar Spinal Stenosis, Lumbar Spine Degeneration, Lumbar Spine Instability, Lumbar Spondylolisthesis
Conditions
Keywords
spondylolisthesis, lumbar spine stenosis
Brief summary
Symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis is the most common indication for spinal surgery. However, more than one-third of the patients undergoing surgery for lumbar stenosis report dissatisfaction with the results. On the other hand, conservative treatment has shown positive results in some cases. This trial will compare the outcomes of surgical versus non-surgical treatment for lumbar stenosis.
Detailed description
This is a three-centre randomised controlled trial in which 200 patients with symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis will be randomised into one of two treatment arms. The patients in the surgical arm will undergo decompression of the neural structures by use of any open or minimally invasive (MIS) technique with or without fusion; the patients in the non-surgical arm will undergo imaging assisted percutaneous interspinous spacer insertion with fusion. The primary outcome of the study will be the Oswestry Disability Index. Secondary outcomes will include motor amplitude and degree of denervation activity obtained by means of nerve conduction studies and electromyography. Patient-reported outcome measures will be also used as secondary outcomes.
Interventions
PROCEDUREMinimally invasive surgery
Surgery with decompression. Central decompression of the stenotic segment with undercutting of the lateral recesses.
PROCEDUREPercutaneous Spacer
percutaneous image guided outpatient procedure that enables interspinous spacer insertion and fusion
Sponsors
University of Roma La Sapienza
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Caregiver, Outcomes Assessor)
Intervention model description
investigator-initiated, prospective, phase III, randomized, controlled clinical trial At the 6-month follow-up, there is a possibility of cross- over from group B to group A. After crossover to surgery, the after-treatment of these patients will be as in group A.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
50 Years to 85 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1. Age 50-85 years. 2. Clinical symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis (pseudoclaudication) indicating and motivating surgery. Numeric Rating Scale in lower limbs ≥3. 3. MRI with finding of lumbar spinal stenosis at 1-3 lumbar levels. Dural sac area ≤75 mm2 or degree of stenosis C or D according to Schizas's classification.34 4. The patient has given oral and written informed consent to participate.
Exclusion criteria
1. Degenerative deformity with Cobb angle \>20°. 2. Symptomatic osteoarthritis in the lower limbs that affects and limits the patient's function. 3. Arterial insufficiency (claudication intermittent). 4. Former lumbar surgery other than disc hernia. 5. Conditions that affect the spine, such as ankylosing spondylitis, diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, spondylodiscitis/infections, malignancy and neurological diseases. 6. Heart and lung diseases presenting a significant risk for surgery or making it impossible for the patient to take part in a percutaneous arm of treatment (American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score \>3). 7. Polyneuropathies. 8. Psychological factors rendering the patient incapable of inclusion in the trial (eg, drug addiction, dementia).
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| oswestry disability Index | 26 weeks | system based on a % scale, with higher scores indicating greater disability; clinically important difference to improvement: 10% |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Euro Quality of life Five-Dimensional descriptive system questionnaire (EQ-5D) | 26 and 52 weeks | — |
| Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) | 26 and 52 weeks | for low back and leg pain (0-10 being 10 worst) |
| subjective walking ability tool | 26 and 52 weeks | — |
| neurophysiological measurements (NCSs/EMG) | 52 weeks | — |
Countries
Italy
Contacts
Primary ContactAlessandro napoli, md, phd
Backup Contactsilvia ciotti
Outcome results
None listed