Article

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical implications of electro-diagnostic study with
those of magnetic resonance imaging in patients with lumbosacral intervertebral
herniated disc or spinal stenosis. DESIGN: Retrospective study of clinical data.
PATIENTS: Patients with lumbosacral intervertebral herniated disc or spinal
stenosis, diagnosed by clinical assessment and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),
were selected. A total of 753 patients (437 with lumbosacral intervertebral
herniated disc and 316 with spinal stenosis) were included in the study. METHODS:
Clinical data for electrodiagnostic study (EDX)and MRI were compared and the
sensitivity and specificity of these studies were evaluated. Among all subjects,
267 had radiculopathy on EDX (EDX (+)) and 486 no radiculopathy (EDX(-)).
Furthermore, 391 had root compression on MRI (MRI (+)) and 362 no root
compression on MRI (MRI (-)). RESULTS: Patients with radioculopathy on EDX (+)
showed a significantly higher visual analogue scale score for radiating pain and
a higher Oswestry Disability Index than those with negative findings by EDX (-)
in the total subjects group and the lumbosacral intervertebral herniated disc
subgroup, and there was a trend toward higher Oswestry Disability Index in the
spinal stenosis subgroup. Although patients with radioculopathy on root
compression on MRI (+) also had a higher visual analogue scale for radiating pain
than patients with negative findings by MRI (-) in the total subjects group and
the lumbosacral intervertebral herniated disc subgroup, no significant difference
was seen in the Oswestry Disability Index. EDX revealed a significant correlation
with muscle weakness in the total subjects group and the lumbosacral
intervertebral herniated disc subgroup, and trends toward muscle weakness in the
spinal stenosis subgroup, whereas there was no such significant correlation for
MRI findings in any group. Electrodiagnostic study had a higher specificity in
terms of physical examination data than MRI, in spite of its lower sensitivity.
CONCLUSION: Electrodiagnostic study was significantly more correlated with
clinical data, especially leg muscle weakness and functional status, and showed a
higher specificity than MRI in patients with lumbosacral intervertebral herniated
disc or spinal stenosis.

Langue : ANGLAIS