Evidence-based guidelines in lumbar spine surgery.
Lumbar fusion is a commonly performed procedure for the treatment of painful instability of the spine, usually manifest as chronic low back pain. The safety, efficacy, and cost of these procedures have been questioned in the professional and lay press. Recently, evidence based medicine techniques have been used to investigate the role of lumbar fusion for the treatment of a variety of spinal disorders. This chapter describes the general principles and procedures used for the development of evidence based guidelines for the performance of lumbar fusion.
Resnick
Daniel K
DK
Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisc., USA.
Groff
Michael C
MC
D001863:Bone Screws; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D013123:Spinal Fusion