BACKGROUND: Degenerative spinal disorders have adverse impacts on patients’ quality of life. Because the main objectives of any surgical intervention are to improve health-related quality of life and to reduce disability, instruments capable of measuring patient-oriented outcomes are now increasingly used. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of the Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF36) for assessing patient-oriented outcomes of degenerative cervical myelopathy surgery.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A literature search was conducted in electronic databases (Google Scholar, Ovid SP, PubMed, Science Direct, and Springer). Studies were included if they reported SF36 scores by following patients for at least 12 months. Random effects meta-analyses were performed to estimate changes in SF36 physical/mental component summary (SF36-PCS/MCS), SF36 dimensional, Japanese Orthopedics Association (JOA)/modified JOA (mJOA), and Neck Disability Index (NDI) scores by latest follow-up.

RESULTS: Fourteen studies (1966 patients; age 58.2 years [95% confidence interval (CI), 56.6 to 59.9]; 60% males [95% CI, 55 to 64]; follow-up 24.8 months [95% CI, 20.9 to 28.7]) were included in meta-analysis. SF36-PCS (6.60 [95% CI, 4.91 to 8.28]; p<0.00001), SF36-MCS (6.33 [95% CI, 4.31 to 8.35]; p<0.00001) and SF36 dimensional (p<0.05) scores improved significantly at latest follow-up. Surgery significantly improved JOA/mJOA (3.43 [95% CI, 2.80 to 4.06]; p<0.00001) and NDI (–13.70 [95% CI, –17.35 to –10.06]; p<0.00001) scores also. Change in SF36-PCS score were correlated (r=–0.554) with change in NDI score, whereas change in SF36-MCS score was correlated with change in JOA score (r=0.550).

CONCLUSIONS: Surgery for degenerative cervical myelopathy is associated with significantly improved SF36-measured patient-oriented outcomes.

Keywords: Nerve Compression Syndromes, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Spinal Cord Compression, Follow-Up Studies, Outcome Assessment, Health Care, Publication Bias, Reproducibility of Results, Spinal Cord Diseases, Surveys and Questionnaires