Four year follow-up of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2005 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | European Journal of Neurology |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Neurology, neurosurgery, neurosciences |
| Keywords | Lumbar spinal stenosis; follow-up |
| Description | The clinical features of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) are heterogeneous and a substantial proportion of patients do not automatically deteriorate and remain unchanged. The aim of this study was to evaluate a clinical development during 4 four year follow-up with respect of a treatment modality. Thirty-nine patients with LSS participated in the study, mean age was 63.5 years (range 42-82 years). The follow-up was 53 + 6 months. We evaluated following parameters: the presence and the intensity of rest pain, the presence of neurogenic claudication (NC)), the presence of weakness, the score of neurological examination, and disability (Oswestry disability index (ODI)). Patients were managed conservatively, surgical decompression was performed in case of conservative treatment failure. At the beginning of study 74% of patients suffered from NC, 79% of patients experienced rest pain, the pain intensity index (VAS) was 6.3 + 1.8, the weakness was present in 26% of patients, the score of neurological examination was 22.9 + 6.1, ODI was 49.7 + 17.8 %. Surgery had been performed in 12 patients (31%). At the end of our follow-up the most of evaluated parameters were unchanged and we verified no statistically significant difference in the change of parameters in conservatively and surgically treated subgroups (chi-square test, Fisher test). Conclusion: The presence of NC and rest pain in patients with LSS was very frequent (about 3/4 of patients), the weakness of the lower limbs was less frequent (1/4 of patients). The clinical findings of patients with LSS did not significantly change after 4 year follow-up with respect of the treatment modality. |
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