Updated guidelines available for lumbar spinal stenosis

(HealthDay)—Updated evidence-based guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis are now available, according to report published in the July issue of The Spine Journal.

D. Scott Kreiner, M.D., from Ahwatukee Sports and Spine in Phoenix, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of the medical literature on the diagnosis and treatment of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis since the previous guidelines of the North American Spine Society (NASS) were published in 2006.

The researchers assessed 16 key clinical questions on the natural history, diagnosis, and treatment of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis. They established evidence-based clinical guidelines that were graded based on the strength of the current literature and stratified by levels of evidence. The complete clinical guidelines are available on the NASS website.

"An evidence-based guideline such as this allows a physician access to the best and most current evidence and reduces the burden of 'keeping up with the literature' that spans innumerable journals from a broad spectrum of disciplines," Kreiner and colleagues write.

Several authors disclosed financial relationships with industry.