Guidelines for the performance of fusion procedures for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine. Part 2: assessment of functional outcome

Standards. It is recommended that functional outcome be measured in patients treated for low-back pain due to degenerative disease of the lumbar spine by using reliable, valid, and responsive scales. Examples of these scales in the low-back pain population include the following: The Spinal Stenosis Survey of Stucki, Waddell-Main Questionnaire, RMDQ, DPQ, QPDS, SIP, Million Scale, LBPR Scale, ODI, the Short Form-12, the JOA system, the CBSQ, and the North American Spine Society Lumbar Spine Outcome Assessment Instrument. Guidelines. There is insufficient evidence to recommend a guideline for assessment of functional outcome following fusion for lumbar degenerative disease. Options. Patient satisfaction scales are recommended for use as outcome measures in retrospective case series, where better alternatives are not available. Patient satisfaction scales are not reliable for the assessment of outcome following intervention for low-back pain.