Patients’ Expectations of Cervical Spine Surgery

OrthoSpineNews—July 31, 2014

Abstract and Introduction

Study Design. Cross-sectional analysis of patients’ expectations of cervical spine surgery using the Hospital for Special Surgery Cervical Spine Surgery Expectations Survey (Expectations Survey).

Objective. To preoperatively describe patients’ long-term expectations of surgery in terms of demographic, clinical, and psychological characteristics.
Summary of Background Data. Although important components of patient-centered care, few studies have systematically considered patients’ expectations of cervical spine surgery.

Methods. Several days before surgery, 150 patients completed the Expectations Survey, which is composed of 20 physical and psychological items; scores range from 0 to 100, and higher scores reflect choosing more items and more improvement (i.e., more expectations). Patients completed additional questionnaires addressing demographic, psychological, and clinical status, including disability due to pain with the Neck Disability Index (NDI) and overall physical and mental health with the 12-item Short Form Health Survey.

The full article originally appeared on orthospinenews.com.