This retrospective review found diabetes to be linked with elevated leg pain and poor patient-reported outcomes at one year following lumbar spine surgery.

To examine the effect of diabetes on post-surgery recovery in pain or numbness in the back, buttock, leg, and sole after surgery of the lumbar spine.

Overall, 993 patients who had decompression and/or fixation of the lumbar spine through April 2017-June 2018 were included. Out of these, 152 patients were diabetic, and 841 were non-diabetic.

As compared to non-diabetic patients, the diabetic patients depicted reduced scores of Oswestry Disability Index (ODI)/Euro quality of life 5-dimension (EQ-5D) and greater Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) scores for leg pain at one year after the operation.

Irreversible nerve damage and changes in the microvasculature in diabetic neuropathy causes chronic peripheral pain. Even though other NRS scores were likely to be greater in diabetic patients after the surgery, the between-group differences were not noteworthy.

Diabetic neuropathy due to microvascular changes may give way to irreversible nerve damage, specifically in the leg. Healthcare professionals can use this evidence when advising about the probability of outcomes of spine surgery in diabetic patients.