OBJECTIVE: the use of clinical and functional evaluation instruments for vertebral pathologies, besides determining how the situation evolves after treatment, can predict the postoperative outcome. The objective of this study was to describe the methodology to evaluate spinal degenerative pathologies and verify the results. METHODS: after the indication of surgical treatment, the patients were invited to participate in the study by signing a letter of free and informed consent. The patients completed the questionnaires at the doctor's office, and were helped regarding doubts in filling them out by a person who was not involved in the surgery. All the evaluation instruments used are self-applied. The following were used: numerical rating scale of pain (NRS), Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABq), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) Scale, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Neck Disability Index (NDI). RESULTS: 220 patients with lumbar spine pathologies and 32 with cervical pathologies were evaluated. The prevalence of depression, according to the BDI, was 28.0% and 31.2% in patients with lumbar and cervical surgical disease, and the prevalence of anxiety according to HAD-A was 40.1% and 46.9%, respectively. The mean of ODI was 46.5, and of NDI, 25.4. As to the feasibility of completing the questionnaires, it was observed that most of the patients, when they have been instructed about completing them, did not have any difficulty in finishing them. The mean time for the completion of all instruments was 25 to 35 minutes. CONCLUSION: the use of instruments validated to evaluate patients with degenerative spinal diseases is feasible and should be encouraged among the spinal surgeons.
Anxiety; Evaluation; Spine; Spinal diseases; Depression; Quality of life; Questionnaires
