Operative vs Non-operative Care in the Management of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Operative vs Non-operative Care in the Management of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Order Description

The project will involve five parts:
1. Define an area of clinical uncertainty in terms of a specific clinical question. The question should be specific and contain several components – the scenario, the intervention, a possible comparable intervention and a clinical outcome.

2. Search the scientific literature to identify potentially relevant article(s) which address the clinical question(s).

3. Critically appraise that evidence for its validity (closeness to the truth) and usefulness (clinical applicability).

4. Apply the results of this appraisal to the area of chosen clinical practice, eg your patient’s problem. Review Section 4 (Sackett) on applying the evidence in caring for your patient; for example considering benefit, accuracy, harm, patient values and preferences.

5. Make a statement as to what decision was actually made in the clinical setting and how and why this differed (if at all) from the best answer prepared from the critical appraisal, eg different conditions, environment etc.

6. Prepare a report dealing with each of the five parts listed above.

Are non-operative treatments more effective at reducing pain scores in patients with moderate to severe lumbar spinal stenosis as compared to surgical management?