Baseline characteristics of patients undergoing surgical management of lumbar disc herniation.
| Characteristic | N (%) |
| Age, y, mean (SD) | 47.0 (15.5) |
| Female sex | 54 (43.9%) |
| BMI, mean (SD) | 28.8 (5.3) |
| Race/ethnicity | |
| Caucasian | 104 (84.6%) |
| Hispanic | 10 (8.1%) |
| Asian | 2 (1.6%) |
| African American | 2 (1.6%) |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander | 3 (2.4%) |
| Medical history | |
| Diabetes mellitus | 15 (12.2%) |
| Liver/kidney disease | 6 (4.9%) |
| Alcohol use | 75 (61.0%) |
| Current smoker | 18 (14.6%) |
| Cannabis use | 8 (6.5%) |
| Osteoporotic disease | 4 (3.3%) |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 1 (0.8%) |
| Multiple sclerosis | 1 (0.8%) |
| Surgical history | |
| Prior spine surgery | 17 (13.8%) |
| Prior decompression | 6 (4.9%) |
| Prior fusion | 9 (7.3%) |
| Prior “other spine surgery” | 2 (1.6%) |
| Cervical | 6 (4.9%) |
| Thoracic | 1 (0.8%) |
| Lumbar | 8 (6.5%) |
| Level of injury | |
| L1–L2 | 1 (0.8%) |
| L2–L3 | 6 (4.9%) |
| L2–L4 | 1 (0.8%) |
| L3–L4 | 16 (13.0%) |
| L3–L5 | 1 (0.8%) |
| L4–L5 | 39 (31.7%) |
| L4–S1 | 6 (4.9%) |
| L5–S1 | 53 (43.1%) |
| Preoperative symptoms | |
| Preoperative back pain | 91 (74.0%) |
| Preoperative radicular pain | 116 (94.3%) |
| Preoperative neurological symptoms | 90 (73.2%) |
| Preoperative NRS, mean (SD) | 7.0 (2.4) |
| Time from symptom onset to surgery (wk), mean (SD) | 39.7 (56.8) |
| Prior management | |
| Procedural intervention | 89 (72.4%) |
| Physical therapy | 47 (38.2%) |
| Acupuncture | 9 (7.3%) |
| Chiropractic | 19 (15.4%) |
| Surgical technique | |
| Use of intraoperative microscope | 22 (17.9%) |
| Open microdiscectomy | 103 (83.7%) |
| Tubular (MIS) microdiscectomy | 15 (12.2%) |
| Decompression w/out discectomy | 3 (2.4%) |
| Fat graft | 45 (36.6%) |
| Dural tear/CSF leak | 3 (2.4%) |
| Operative time, min, mean (SD) | 79.0 (38.1) |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; MIS, minimally invasive surgery; NRS, Numerical Rating System.
Note: Data presented as n (%) unless otherwise noted.