STUDY DESIGN: A prospective comparison. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this prospective study was to verify the clinical effectiveness of the 10-s grip and release (G&R) and 10-s step quantitative tests for assessing the severity of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) and to compare age- and sex-related differences in the results between large cohorts of CSM patients and asymptomatic subjects. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: To determine the severity of CSM, objective and reproducible means of measuring patient disability are essential. No studies have evaluated differences in quantitative test results between a large series of CSM patients and healthy subjects. METHODS: Four hundred fifty-four CSM patients and 818 asymptomatic subjects were included. The Japanese subjects were in their 40s to 70s and were divided according to their age by decade. The 10-s G&R and 10-s step tests were used to quantitatively assess performance. The severity of myelopathy before surgery was evaluated according to a scoring system proposed by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association for cervical myelopathy (JOA score) in the CSM patients. RESULTS: In the CSM patients, the 10-s G&R and step test results significantly correlated with the JOA score (P < 0.0001). The number of the 10-s G&R and step tests significantly decreased with age in both groups. There was a difference in the 10-s G&R and step test results between males and females. In the asymptomatic subjects, the number of the 10-s G&R and step tests in the females was less than that in the males. The numbers in the 10-s G&R and step tests were significantly lower in CSM patients than those in asymptomatic subjects in each decade (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The 10-s G&R and 10-s step tests were useful for quantitatively assessing CSM severity, and age and sex differences in results should be considered in screening. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2.
STUDY DESIGN: A prospective comparison. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this prospective study was to verify the clinical effectiveness of the 10-s grip and release (G&R) and 10-s step quantitative tests for assessing the severity of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) and to compare age- and sex-related differences in the results between large cohorts of CSM patients and asymptomatic subjects. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: To determine the severity of CSM, objective and reproducible means of measuring patient disability are essential. No studies have evaluated differences in quantitative test results between a large series of CSM patients and healthy subjects. METHODS: Four hundred fifty-four CSM patients and 818 asymptomatic subjects were included. The Japanese subjects were in their 40s to 70s and were divided according to their age by decade. The 10-s G&R and 10-s step tests were used to quantitatively assess performance. The severity of myelopathy before surgery was evaluated according to a scoring system proposed by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association for cervical myelopathy (JOA score) in the CSM patients. RESULTS: In the CSM patients, the 10-s G&R and step test results significantly correlated with the JOA score (P < 0.0001). The number of the 10-s G&R and step tests significantly decreased with age in both groups. There was a difference in the 10-s G&R and step test results between males and females. In the asymptomatic subjects, the number of the 10-s G&R and step tests in the females was less than that in the males. The numbers in the 10-s G&R and step tests were significantly lower in CSM patients than those in asymptomatic subjects in each decade (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The 10-s G&R and 10-s step tests were useful for quantitatively assessing CSM severity, and age and sex differences in results should be considered in screening. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2.
Authors: M Abdulhadi Alagha; Mahmoud A Alagha; Eleanor Dunstan; Olaf Sperwer; Kate A Timmins; Bronek M Boszczyk Journal: Eur Spine J Date: 2017-01-19 Impact factor: 3.134