The Spine Journal
Volume 10, Issue 6 , Pages 505-506 , June 2010

Considering value

  • Matthew Smuck, MD

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University Spine Center, Redwood City, CA 94063, USA. Tel.: (650) 721-7627; fax: (650) 721-3470.

Received 22 March 2010 ,Accepted 7 April 2010.

References 

  1. Mortimer D, Segal L. Comparing the incomparable? A systematic review of competing techniques for converting descriptive measures of health status into QALY-weights. Med Decis Making. 2008;28:66–89
  2. Bridges JF, Onukwugha E, Mullins CD. Healthcare rationing by proxy: cost-effectiveness analysis and the misuse of the $50,000 threshold in the US. Pharmacoeconomics. 2010;28:175–184
  3. van den Hout WB, Peul WC, Koes BW, et al. Leiden-The Hague Spine Intervention Prognostic Study Group Prolonged conservative care versus early surgery in patients with sciatica from lumbar disc herniation: cost utility analysis alongside a randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2008;336:1351–1354
  4. Tosteson AN, Skinner JS, Tosteson TD, et al. The cost effectiveness of surgical versus nonoperative treatment for lumbar disc herniation over two years: evidence from the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT). Spine. 2008;33:2108–2115
  5. Buttermann GR. Treatment of lumbar disc herniation: epidural steroid injection compared with discectomy. A prospective, randomized study. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2004;86-A:670–679
  6. Wang JC, Lin E, Brodke DS, Youssef JA. Epidural injections for the treatment of symptomatic lumbar herniated discs. J Spinal Disord Tech. 2002;15:269–272
  7. Arden NK, Price C, Reading I, et al. WEST Study Group A multicentre randomized controlled trial of epidural corticosteroid injections for sciatica: the WEST study. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2005;44:1399–1406
  8. Daffner SD, Hymanson HJ, Wang JC. Cost and use of conservative management of lumbar disc herniation before surgical discectomy. Spine J. 2010;10:463–468

 FDA device/drug status: not applicable.

 Author disclosures: MS (consulting, Arthrocare, Inc; trips/travel, Arthrocare, Inc.; research support: staff and/or materials, Arthrocare, Inc.).

PII: S1529-9430(10)00303-7

doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2010.04.007

The Spine Journal
Volume 10, Issue 6 , Pages 505-506 , June 2010

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