Respondents' opinion to what extent patient-specific prognostic factors influence their clinical decision making in the treatment of CLBP
| Patient factor | p Value* | |||
| Maximum number of levels for fusion | 1 Level | 2 Levels | ≥3 Levels | |
| 18 (30.5) | 23 (39.0) | 18 (30.5) | <0.001 | |
| Minimum age patient | <20 years | 20–30 years | ≥30 years | <0.001 |
| 15 (24.6) | 25 (41.0) | 21 (34.4) | ||
| Maximum age patient | 40–50 years | 50–60 years | ≥60 years | NS |
| 5 (8.1) | 12 (19.4) | 45 (72.5) | ||
| Minimal length conservative therapy | <6 months | 6 months to 1 year | ≥1 year | NS |
| 3 (4.8) | 36 (58.1) | 23 (37.1) | ||
| Maximum body mass index | <31 | 31–37 | ≥37 | <0.001 |
| 29 (46.8) | 18 (29.0) | 15 (24.2) | ||
| Maximum number of cigarettes/day | 0 | 1–20 | ≥20 | <0.001 |
| 29 (47.5) | 7 (11.4) | 25 (40.9) | ||
| Referral overweight patients to dietician | Always | Sometimes | Never | <0.001 |
| 29 (46.8) | 20 (32.3) | 13 (21.0) | ||
| Psychological screening referral | Always | Sometimes | Never | <0.001 |
| 10 (16.2) | 28 (45.2) | 24 (38.7) | ||
| Different criteria for primary DDD vs prior spine surgery | Agree | Neutral | Disagree | NS |
| 44 (71.0) | 8 (12.9) | 10 (16.1) | ||
| Work status affects outcome | Agree | Neutral | Disagree | <0.001 |
| 29 (46.7) | 17 (27.4) | 16 (25.9) | ||
| Litigation procedures affect outcome | Agree | Neutral | Disagree | NS |
| 43 (69.3) | 9 (14.5) | 10 (16.2) | ||
The numbers listed are percentages of valid responses.
↵* χ2 test: p<0.05 means significantly <70% consensus, NS implies uniformity.
DDD, degenerative disc disease; NS, not significant.