Long-term disability and return to work among patients who have a herniated lumbar disc: the effect of disability compensation.

BACKGROUND:
Low-back problems are one of the most frequent reasons for disability compensation claims by workers. However, the effect of Workers' Compensation status on the long-term outcome for workers with sciatica has not been studied in detail, to our knowledge. Therefore, we believe that it is important to describe the long-term outcomes for patients who have herniation of a lumbar disc and sciatica according to the Workers' Compensation status at the time of the preoperative consultation.

METHODS:
We conducted a prospective, observational study of patients who had sciatica and were seeking care from specialist physicians in community-based practices throughout Maine. Among 440 eligible patients, 199 were receiving Workers' Compensation at the time of entry into the study (baseline) and 241 were not. Three hundred and twenty-six patients (74 percent) completed questionnaires at the time of a four-year follow-up. The outcomes that we assessed included disability compensation and work status as well as relief from symptoms, functional status, and quality of life.

RESULTS:
Patients who were receiving Workers' Compensation at baseline were more likely to be young, male, and employed as laborers. They reported worse functional status; however, the clinical findings for these patients were similar to those for patients who were not receiving Workers' Compensation. Patients who had been receiving Workers' Compensation at baseline were more likely to be receiving disability benefits at the time of the four-year follow-up compared with those who had not (27 percent of 133 compared with 7 percent of 189; p< 0.001); however, they were only slightly less likely to be working at the time of the four-year follow-up (80 percent of 133 compared with 87 percent of 190; p = 0.09). Operative management did not influence these comparisons, but it decreased symptoms and improved functional status. Patients who had been receiving Workers' Compensation at baseline also had significantly less relief from symptoms and improvement in quality of life than patients who had not been receiving Workers' Compensation (all p< 0.001). In multivariate models, Workers' Compensation status at baseline was an independent predictor of whether the patient would be receiving disability benefits after four years (odds ratio, 3.5; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.7 to 7.6) but was not an independent predictor of whether the patient would be working on a job for pay at the time of the four-year follow-up (odds ratio, 0.6; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.3 to 1.2).

CONCLUSIONS:
Even after adjustment for the initial treatment of the sciatica and for other clinical factors, patients who had been receiving Workers' Compensation at baseline were more likely to be receiving disability benefits and were less likely to report relief from symptoms and improvement in quality of life at the time of the four-year follow-up than patients who had not been receiving Workers' Compensation at baseline. Nonetheless, most patients returned to work regardless of their initial disability status, and those who had been receiving Workers' Compensation at baseline were only slightly less likely to be working after four years. Whether or not they had been receiving Workers' Compensation at baseline, patients who had been managed with an operation reported greater relief from symptoms and improvement in functional status at the time of the four-year follow-up compared with patients who had been managed nonoperatively, even though the outcomes with regard to disability and work status in these two groups were comparable.