OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of symptomatic and asymptomatic herniated discs and root compression in patients with lumbosacral radicular syndrome (LRS) and to correlate clinical localization with MRI findings. METHODS: Fifty-seven patients with unilateral LRS were included in the study. Using the visual analogue scale, two physicians independently localized the most likely lumbar level of complaints. These clinical predictions of localizations were correlated with the MRI findings. RESULTS: MRI showed abnormalities on the symptomatic side in 42 of 57 patients (74%). In 30% of the patients, MRI confirmed an abnormality at the exact same level as determined after clinical examination. On the asymptomatic side, MRI showed abnormalities in 19 of 57 patients (33%), 13 (23%) of these patients had asymptomatic root compression. CONCLUSIONS: In more than two-thirds of the patients with unilateral LRS there was no exact match between the level predicted by clinical examination and MRI findings. These discrepancies complicate the decision whether or not to operate.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of symptomatic and asymptomatic herniated discs and root compression in patients with lumbosacral radicular syndrome (LRS) and to correlate clinical localization with MRI findings. METHODS: Fifty-seven patients with unilateral LRS were included in the study. Using the visual analogue scale, two physicians independently localized the most likely lumbar level of complaints. These clinical predictions of localizations were correlated with the MRI findings. RESULTS: MRI showed abnormalities on the symptomatic side in 42 of 57 patients (74%). In 30% of the patients, MRI confirmed an abnormality at the exact same level as determined after clinical examination. On the asymptomatic side, MRI showed abnormalities in 19 of 57 patients (33%), 13 (23%) of these patients had asymptomatic root compression. CONCLUSIONS: In more than two-thirds of the patients with unilateral LRS there was no exact match between the level predicted by clinical examination and MRI findings. These discrepancies complicate the decision whether or not to operate.
Authors: Bernard P Bechara; Vikas Agarwal; John Boardman; Subashan Perera; Debra K Weiner; Nam Vo; James Kang; Gwendolyn A Sowa Journal: Spine (Phila Pa 1976) Date: 2014-03-15 Impact factor: 3.468
Authors: Steven K Leckie; Bernard P Bechara; Robert A Hartman; Gwendolyn A Sowa; Barrett I Woods; Joao P Coelho; William T Witt; Qing D Dong; Brent W Bowman; Kevin M Bell; Nam V Vo; Bing Wang; James D Kang Journal: Spine J Date: 2011-10-22 Impact factor: 4.166