Lumbar Spine SurgeryNCT02257554
Comparing Patients' and Surgeons' Expectations of Lumbar Spine Surgery
An observational study of Lumbar Spine Surgery, run by Hospital for Special Surgery, New York at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goals of this study are to assess concordance between the patient-surgeon pair regarding expectations of lumbar spine surgery. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Lumbar Spine Surgery
- What is being tested?
- education
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- How many people
- 437 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Sep 2014to Dec 2026
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Study population: Patients scheduled for lumbar spine surgery and their surgeons
Who may be able to join
- Patients will be eligible if they are ≥ 18 years old, speak English, and are scheduled for non-trauma-related lumbar spine surgery.
Who cannot join
- Patients will be excluded if they have cognitive deficits and cannot provide informed consent.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Hospital for Special Surgery
New York, New York, 10021
About this study
The goals of this study are to assess concordance between the patient-surgeon pair regarding expectations of lumbar spine surgery.
Read the detailed description
Low back pain is a prevalent medical condition afflicting primarily older adults but affecting all age groups and due to acute and non-acute diagnoses. Multiple possible conservative therapies exist; however, their major drawback is that the time required to advance therapy is often prolonged and accompanied by persistent disability and psychological suffering. Thus, some patients seek surgery after exhausting other therapies and some patients seek surgery earlier in their course. For both groups, decisions to undergo surgery are based on personal circumstances, perspectives, and expectations of outcome. Prior studies have shown that patients typically have high expectations of orthopedic surgery. Although high aspirations can be motivating, they also may predispose to poor outcomes if they are unrealistic and cause patients to become discouraged with recuperation time and ignore recommended lifestyle changes that avert progression of disease. Expectations that are too low, conversely, also may predispose to poor outcomes if patients lack motivation to participate in rehabilitation and to follow postop precautions. In order to achieve maximum benefit from surgery, patients and surgeons need to share an understanding of what is possible, probable, and realistic, and to join together and work toward the same goals. The primary objective of this proposed cross-sectional study is to assess the concordance between patients and their surgeons regarding expectations of lumbar spine surgery. Patients scheduled for lumbar surgery will be dichotomized according to whether they have acute versus non-acute conditions. Several days before surgery patients will complete the validated Lumbar Spine Surgery Expectations Survey measuring their physical and psychological expectations. Also before surgery their surgeons will complete the surgeon's version of the same survey for each patient. The main outcome will be a comparison of the concordance within each patient-surgeon pair according to acute versus non-acute groups based on the concordance correlation coefficient. Multivariate regression analysis based on the GEE method will be used to assess covariates.
- Conditions
- Lumbar Spine Surgery
- Being tested
- education
- Keywords
- expectations
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
educationBehavioural
Discussion of surgical expectations with patients
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Comparison of Lumbar Spine Surgery Expectations Survey scores for patients and their surgeons.
comparison of patients and surgeons responses
Measured: participants will be surveyed before surgery, an expected average of 5 days
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted6 Oct 2014 (estimated)
- Study startSep 2014
- Primary completionDec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completionDec 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Lumbar Spine SurgeryStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Hospital for Special Surgery, New YorkThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Enrolment
- 437 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Hospital for Special Surgery, New York
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Carol A Mancuso, MD, Principal investigator, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02257554
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2014-287
- Status last verified
- Oct 2025
- First submitted
- 30 Sep 2014
- Last updated
- 13 Feb 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
Publications
Mancuso CA, Cammisa FP, Sama AA, Hughes AP, Ghomrawi HM, Girardi FP. Development and testing of an expectations survey for patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2013 Oct 2;95(19):1793-800. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.L.00338.
PubMed 24088972
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 13 Feb 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Comparing Patients' and Surgeons' Expectations of Lumbar Spine Surgery
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02257554
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 2014-287
- Conditions
- Lumbar Spine Surgery
- Keywords
- expectations
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Active, not recruiting
- Enrolment
- 437 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Hospital for Special Surgery, New YorkUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- Sep 2014
- Primary completion
- Dec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Dec 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 6 Oct 2014 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goals of this study are to assess concordance between the patient-surgeon pair regarding expectations of lumbar spine surgery.
Detailed description
Low back pain is a prevalent medical condition afflicting primarily older adults but affecting all age groups and due to acute and non-acute diagnoses. Multiple possible conservative therapies exist; however, their major drawback is that the time required to advance therapy is often prolonged and accompanied by persistent disability and psychological suffering. Thus, some patients seek surgery after exhausting other therapies and some patients seek surgery earlier in their course. For both groups, decisions to undergo surgery are based on personal circumstances, perspectives, and expectations of outcome. Prior studies have shown that patients typically have high expectations of orthopedic surgery. Although high aspirations can be motivating, they also may predispose to poor outcomes if they are unrealistic and cause patients to become discouraged with recuperation time and ignore recommended lifestyle changes that avert progression of disease. Expectations that are too low, conversely, also may predispose to poor outcomes if patients lack motivation to participate in rehabilitation and to follow postop precautions. In order to achieve maximum benefit from surgery, patients and surgeons need to share an understanding of what is possible, probable, and realistic, and to join together and work toward the same goals. The primary objective of this proposed cross-sectional study is to assess the concordance between patients and their surgeons regarding expectations of lumbar spine surgery. Patients scheduled for lumbar surgery will be dichotomized according to whether they have acute versus non-acute conditions. Several days before surgery patients will complete the validated Lumbar Spine Surgery Expectations Survey measuring their physical and psychological expectations. Also before surgery their surgeons will complete the surgeon's version of the same survey for each patient. The main outcome will be a comparison of the concordance within each patient-surgeon pair according to acute versus non-acute groups based on the concordance correlation coefficient. Multivariate regression analysis based on the GEE method will be used to assess covariates.
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Prospective
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- Patients scheduled for lumbar spine surgery and their surgeons
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Patients will be eligible if they are ≥ 18 years old, speak English, and are scheduled for non-trauma-related lumbar spine surgery.
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Patients will be excluded if they have cognitive deficits and cannot provide informed consent.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| educationDiscussion of surgical expectations with patients | Behavioural | – |
Primary outcome
Comparison of Lumbar Spine Surgery Expectations Survey scores for patients and their surgeons.
Time frame: participants will be surveyed before surgery, an expected average of 5 days
comparison of patients and surgeons responses
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 13 Feb 2026.
- Background: PubMed 24088972Mancuso CA, Cammisa FP, Sama AA, Hughes AP, Ghomrawi HM, Girardi FP. Development and testing of an expectations survey for patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2013 Oct 2;95(19):1793-800. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.L.00338.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Carol A Mancuso, MD principal investigator
Hospital for Special Surgery, New York
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Lumbar Spine Surgery, run by Hospital for Special Surgery, New York at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 13 Feb 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Comparison of Lumbar Spine Surgery Expectations Survey scores for patients and their surgeons. (time frame: participants will be surveyed before surgery, an expected average of 5 days). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT02257554, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 13 Feb 2026.