NL
Patients with a herniated disc who undergo microdiscectomy often experience pain relief and improved mobility. Yet a proportion of them struggle with residual symptoms and long-term limitations. Researchers have now developed an innovative “people-like-me” approach that predicts patient outcomes using historical data from similar patients.
In a study with 618 participants, this approach showed promising results. Predictions for pain and disability 12 months after surgery were initially based on pre-surgery data. Although these predictions had reasonable accuracy, precision improved significantly when data from the 3-month follow-up were also added. The accuracy of pain predictions increased by 43% and that of impairments by 23%.
These results show that 3-month follow-up is not only of value for monitoring recovery, but can also be essential for refining treatment plans and managing expectations. For both patients and providers, this represents a step toward personalized health care.
The researchers stress that this approach not only has practical implications, but also offers hope to patients by providing them with more informed prognoses and customized rehabilitation.
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