%0 Journal Article
%T Clinical outcomes research in spine surgery: what are appropriate follow-up times?
%A Ayling OGS
%A Ailon T
%A McIntosh G
%A Soroceanu A
%A Hall H
%A Nataraj A
%A Bailey CS
%A Christie S
%A Stratton A
%A Ahn H
%A Johnson M
%A Paquet J
%A Thomas K
%A Manson N
%A Rampersaud YR
%A Fisher CG
%J J Neurosurg Spine
%V 30
%N 3
%D 03 2019 1
%M 30579264
%F 3.467
%R 10.3171/2018.8.SPINE18715
%X In BriefThe time course required for the patient-reported outcomes of pain, physical function, and mental health to reach a recovery plateau after elective lumbar spine surgery was assessed utilizing a prospectively maintained multicenter registry. The work is important as it demonstrates that specific health dimensions follow different recovery plateaus and it provides evidence that a 2-year postoperative follow-up is not required to accurately assess the treatment effect of established surgeries for lumbar spinal pathologies.