Guidelines for the performance of fusion procedures for degenerative disease of the lumbar spine. Part 5: correlation between radiographic and functional outcome.

Resnick, Daniel K; Choudhri, Tanvir F; Dailey, Andrew T; Groff, Michael W; Khoo, Larry; Matz, Paul G; Mummaneni, Praveen; Watters, William C et al. · J Neurosurg Spine · 2005

review · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

At the present time, there is no Class I or II medical evidence to indicate that the appearance of a radiographic fusion is significantly associated with improved functional outcomes. The majority of Class III medical evidence does suggest that successful radiographic fusion is associated with improved clinical outcomes. It is widely acknowledged that this relationship is not perfect.

Medical subject headings

Anatomy