Abstract

Background context: Degeneration of intervertebral discs can sometimes cause chronic pain known as degenerative disc disease (DDD), and this condition is primarily treated conservatively. If this fails, surgery can be considered; these patients are often assessed through medical history, clinical findings, and radiology. In some patients uncertainty prevails, therefore additional examinations might be beneficial. One such examination is provocative discography, but its reliability is disputed. No studies have been performed on the impact of discography on clinical outcome after surgery.

Purpose: To determine whether information obtained from discography might affect the clinical outcome of surgical interventions in patients with suspected DDD. Study design: A retrospective outcome study with data 1 and 2 years after surgery for DDD. Patient sample: The patient sample consisted of 99 patients with DDD primarily judged as uncertain or complicated, divided into four subgroups according to the reason for clinical uncertainty, and subsequently examined with discography.

Outcome measures: The data were reported using a self-assessment questionnaire with validated outcome variables of pain, function, and quality of life. Methods: To evaluate the results after surgery, the outcome of the uncertain patient groups who underwent discography was compared with a control group of 988 patients who were not examined with discography.