Universal disease-specific outcome instruments for spine trauma: a global perspective on relevant parameters to evaluate clinical and functional outcomes of thoracic and lumbar spine trauma patients

Purpose: Besides a patient reported outcome measure, the AOSpine Knowledge Forum Trauma aims to develop a new concept of a surgeon reported outcome measure (SROM) for spine trauma patients. This study aims to identify parameters that spine surgeons consider relevant to evaluate clinical and functional outcomes of thoracic and lumbar spine trauma patients. Methods: An international cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted among spine surgeons from the five AOSpine International world regions. They were asked to evaluate the relevance of a compilation of 16 clinical and radiological parameters for thoracic and lumbar spine trauma patients, both for the short term (3 months–2 years) and long term (≥2 years), on a five-point scale. The responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequency analysis, and Kruskal–Wallis test. Results: Out of the 279 invited members of AOSpine International and the International Spinal Cord Society, 118 (42.3 %) participated in this study. Of the 16 surveyed parameters, 5 were identified as relevant by at least 70 % of the participants. Neurological status was identified as most relevant. In contrast, five parameters were not deemed relevant for any spine region or time period, except for comorbidity. Only minor differences were observed when analyzing the responses according to each world region, spine surgeons’ clinical experience, or professional background. Conclusions: Including a large and representative sample of spine trauma experts, this study identified parameters to evaluate clinical and functional outcomes of thoracic and lumbar spine trauma patients. The results form the basis for the development of a SROM for this specific patient population.