Posterior Surgery Noninferior to Anterior for Cervical Radiculopathy
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Aug. 12, 2024 -- For patients with cervical radiculopathy, posterior surgery is noninferior to anterior surgery with respect to success rate and reduction in arm pain, according to a study published online July 24 in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
Nadia F. Simões de Souza, M.D., from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and colleagues conducted a multicenter, noninferiority trial involving patients with single-level cervical radiculopathy in nine Dutch hospitals with two-year follow-up duration. A total of 265 patients were randomly assigned: 132 and 133 to the posterior surgery group (posterior cervical foraminotomy) and anterior surgery group (anterior discectomy with fusion), respectively. Primary outcome data were available for 236 of the 243 patients who underwent the allocated intervention.
The researchers found that the predicted proportions of a successful outcome were 0.81 and 0.74 after posterior and anterior surgery, respectively (difference in rate, −0.06 [one-sided 95 percent confidence interval, −0.02]), indicating noninferiority of the posterior group. The difference in arm pain between the groups was −2.7 (one-sided 95 percent confidence interval, 7.4), and the between-group difference in the decrease in arm pain was 1.5 (one-sided 95 percent confidence interval, 8.2), confirming noninferiority. Small between-group differences were seen in secondary outcomes. Overall, 8 and 9 percent of patients who underwent posterior and anterior surgery, respectively, had serious surgery-related adverse events (difference, −0.02; two-sided 95 percent confidence interval, −0.09 to 0.05).
"Our findings provide level-I evidence that posterior surgery is noninferior to anterior surgery with regard to the clinical outcome, with follow-up of two years," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted August 2024
Read this next
Considerable Variation Seen in Commercial Pricing for Surgery Services
THURSDAY, July 3, 2025 -- Commercial pricing varies considerably for general surgery services, with facility prices exhibiting greater variability, according to a research letter...
Thresholds for Preop Serum Calcitonin Predict Lymph Node Metastasis in Thyroid Cancer
WEDNESDAY, July 2, 2025 -- Updated threshold values of preoperative serum calcitonin predict different extents of lymph node metastasis (LNM) in patients with medullary thyroid...
No Link Found for Preprocedural Fasting and Witnessed Pulmonary Aspiration
WEDNESDAY, July 2, 2025 -- For patients undergoing surgical procedures, there is no association between liberal preprocedural fasting policies and witnessed aspiration, according...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.