BACKGROUND: Lateral lumbar spinal canal stenosis is a common etiology of lumbar radicular symptoms. Quantitative measurements have commonly demonstrated better repeatability than visual assessments. We are not aware of any studies examining the repeatability of quantitative assessment of the lateral canal. PURPOSE: To evaluate the repeatability of visual assessments and newly developed quantitative measurements of lateral lumbar spinal canal stenosis using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with lateral lumbar spinal canal stenosis or prior spinal surgery with recurrent symptoms were imaged with MRI. A radiologist, a neurosurgeon and a spine research trainee graded visually and quantitatively subarticular (n = 188) and foraminal zones (n = 260) of the lateral spinal canal. Quantitative measurements included the minimal subarticular width and the cross-sectional area of the foramen. RESULTS: The repeatability of visual assessment at the subarticular zone and foraminal zones between raters varied from 0.45-0.59 and 0.42-0.53, respectively. Similarly, the intraclass correlation coefficients for the quantitative measurements varied from 0.67-0.71 and 0.66-0.76, respectively. The intra-rater repeatability for the visual assessments of the subarticular and foraminal zones was 0.70 and 0.62, respectively, while the corresponding intraclass correlation coefficients for quantitative measurements were 0.83 and 0.81, respectively. CONCLUSION: Inter-rater repeatability of visual assessments of lateral stenosis is moderate, whereas quantitative measurements of both subarticular width and the cross-sectional area of the foramen have substantial reproducibility and may be particularly useful for longitudinal studies and research purposes. The clinical value of these parameters requires further study.
BACKGROUND: Lateral lumbar spinal canal stenosis is a common etiology of lumbar radicular symptoms. Quantitative measurements have commonly demonstrated better repeatability than visual assessments. We are not aware of any studies examining the repeatability of quantitative assessment of the lateral canal. PURPOSE: To evaluate the repeatability of visual assessments and newly developed quantitative measurements of lateral lumbar spinal canal stenosis using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with lateral lumbar spinal canal stenosis or prior spinal surgery with recurrent symptoms were imaged with MRI. A radiologist, a neurosurgeon and a spine research trainee graded visually and quantitatively subarticular (n = 188) and foraminal zones (n = 260) of the lateral spinal canal. Quantitative measurements included the minimal subarticular width and the cross-sectional area of the foramen. RESULTS: The repeatability of visual assessment at the subarticular zone and foraminal zones between raters varied from 0.45-0.59 and 0.42-0.53, respectively. Similarly, the intraclass correlation coefficients for the quantitative measurements varied from 0.67-0.71 and 0.66-0.76, respectively. The intra-rater repeatability for the visual assessments of the subarticular and foraminal zones was 0.70 and 0.62, respectively, while the corresponding intraclass correlation coefficients for quantitative measurements were 0.83 and 0.81, respectively. CONCLUSION: Inter-rater repeatability of visual assessments of lateral stenosis is moderate, whereas quantitative measurements of both subarticular width and the cross-sectional area of the foramen have substantial reproducibility and may be particularly useful for longitudinal studies and research purposes. The clinical value of these parameters requires further study.
Authors: Greger Lønne; Bent Ødegård; Lars Gunnar Johnsen; Tore K Solberg; Kjell Arne Kvistad; Øystein P Nygaard Journal: Eur Spine J Date: 2014-02-27 Impact factor: 3.134
Authors: Pekka Kuittinen; Petri Sipola; Tapani Saari; Timo Juhani Aalto; Sanna Sinikallio; Sakari Savolainen; Heikki Kröger; Veli Turunen; Ville Leinonen; Olavi Airaksinen Journal: BMC Musculoskelet Disord Date: 2014-10-16 Impact factor: 2.362
Authors: Pekka Kuittinen; Petri Sipola; Timo Juhani Aalto; Sara Määttä; Anita Parviainen; Tapani Saari; Sanna Sinikallio; Sakari Savolainen; Veli Turunen; Heikki Kröger; Olavi Airaksinen; Ville Leinonen Journal: BMC Musculoskelet Disord Date: 2014-07-23 Impact factor: 2.362
Authors: Pekka Kuittinen; Petri Sipola; Ville Leinonen; Tapani Saari; Sanna Sinikallio; Sakari Savolainen; Heikki Kröger; Veli Turunen; Olavi Airaksinen; Timo Aalto Journal: PLoS One Date: 2014-09-17 Impact factor: 3.240