The clinical course of symptoms during wait time for lumbar spinal stenosis surgery and its effect on postoperative outcome: a retrospective cohort study

Wait time for surgeries can be lengthy and its effect on postoperative outcome remains largely unknown.We evaluated the effect of wait time on postoperative outcome and on clinical course while awaiting surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis.This was a retrospective cohort study.A convenience sample (n=134) from prospective longitudinal studies that provided preoperative Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) data at two different time points and follow-up of ≥12 months.Wait time was the period between the initial consultation and immediately preoperatively.The primary outcome was the ODI minimal clinically important difference (MCID) (<30% vs ≥30% improvement) at 1 year.The median wait time was 5.9 (interquartile range (IQR) 8.2) months and postoperative follow-up was 19.2 (IQR 8.1) months. Wait time was not associated with absolute postoperative change in ODI scores, but patients with wait times <12 months were significantly more likely to reach the ODI MCID at last follow-up (66 (73.3%) for <12 months versus 13 (46.4%) for ≥12 months, p=.008; odds ratio=0.29 (95% confidence interval 0.12-0.75), p=.011). During wait time, there was no difference in patients deteriorating above the MCID for each time point (10 [9.7%] versus 5 [16.1%], p=.320).Longer wait times did not negatively influence postoperative outcome in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis using absolute values, but may impact individual patients' ability to achieve MCID. Patient-reported pain-related disability from the initial surgical consultation to surgery is relatively stable in most patients for at least 6 to 12 months.