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Increasing evidence supports minimally invasive sacroiliac joint (SIJ) fusion as a safe and effective treatment for SIJ dysfunction
The sacroiliac
(SI) joint connects the sacrum (triangular bone at the bottom of the spine)
with the pelvis (iliac bone that is part of the hip joint) on each side of the
lower spine. SI joint problems are a common cause of low back pain. Here in the
present research article, the invasive sacroiliac joint (SIJ) is used as a
diagnostic technique, hence proving its worth.
Increasing
evidence supports minimally invasive sacroiliac joint (SIJ) fusion as a safe
and effective treatment for SIJ dysfunction. Failure to include the SIJ in the
diagnostic evaluation of low back pain could result in unnecessary health care
expenses.
Design: Decision
analytic cost model.
A decision
analytic model calculating 2-year direct health care costs in patients with
chronic low back pain considering lumbar fusion surgery was used.
The strategy of
including the SIJ in the preoperative diagnostic workup of chronic low back pain
saves an expected US$3,100 per patient over 2 years. Cost savings were robust
to reasonable ranges for costs and probabilities, such as the probability of
diagnosis and the probability of successful surgical treatment.
Including the SIJ
as part of the diagnostic strategy in preoperative patients with chronic low
back pain is likely to be cost saving in the short term.
Clinicoecon Outcomes Res. 2016; 8: 23–31
Ignoring the sacroiliac joint in chronic low back pain is costly
David W Polly, Daniel Cher
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