Trends in the use of patient-reported outcome instruments in neurosurgical adult thoracolumbar deformity and degenerative disease literature

OBJECTIVE Shifting national healthcare trends place increased emphasis on patient-centered care and value-based outcomes, and thus, patient-reported outcome instruments (PROIs) are often used. We sought to characterize the trends in PROI use over the past decade with regard to thoracolumbar degenerative spine disease and spinal deformity in major neurosurgical journals. METHODS Articles were screened for PROI use through a PubMed search among five major neurosurgical journals from 2006 to 2016. Articles focusing on adult thoracolumbar deformity and degenerative disease were selected with stringent criteria to further characterize PROI use. RESULTS A total of 29 different PROIs were used among 102 articles identified from 2006 to 2016 using our search strategy. Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine contained the most articles utilizing PROIs with 35.3% of all articles meeting search criteria. The most frequently used PROIs were Oswestry Disability Index, visual analog scale, and the European Quality of Life Five-dimension questionnaire used in 79.4%, 59.8%, and 29.4% of articles, respectively. Linear regression identified a significant increase in the number of articles employing PROIs from 2006 to 2016 (Y = 1.85, R2= 0.77, P < 0.01). The total number of PROIs per article was relatively stagnant over time and did not significantly change (Y = 0.03, R2= 0.05, P = 0.51). CONCLUSIONS PROI use as an outcome tool in the adult thoracolumbar disease literature has increased during the past decade, which may be an indicative of PROI use to define patient expectations. This may also represent a trend toward PROI use as a surrogate measure of value-based care.