Dados do Trabalho

Título

IS THERE A CORRELATION BETWEEN THE MORPHOMETRIC FINDINGS OF THE DYNAMIC CERVICAL SPINE MRI AND THE RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE MJOA SCORE IN PATIENTS WITH SPONDYLOTIC MYELOPATHY?

Objetivo

Therefore, the study aims to assess the correlation of spinal canal parameters measured in dynamic MRIs and mJOA scores in patients
diagnosed with CSM.

Metodologia

All patients underwent dMRI examination of the cervical spine using the same device. The imaging analysis was performed using the OsiriX MD v.7.0 64bit software, with a standardized 300% zoom, by two independent spine surgeons as observers. After a 30-day wash-out interval, one observer repeated the analysis, following the same protocol and using the same computer and software for the intraobserver reliability analysis.

The anatomic parameters evaluated were the spinal canal diameter (SCD) and the Spinal Canal width (SCW). The SCD was measured as the distance between the midpoint of the posterior portion of the intervertebral disc and the anterior margin of the yellow ligament posteriorly. The SCW was measured as the distance between the anterior and posterior edge of the Spinal Canal at the exact point used to assess SCD.

The modified Japanese Orthopedic Association (mJOA) scale was the chosen measure for assessing functional status. It is an 18-point CSMspecific scale that separately scores for upper (5) and lower (7) extremity motor function, sensation (3), and sphincter control (3).

Resultados

Statistical correlation analysis was assessed between the severity of the CSM, represented by the mJOA score, and the dynamic
measures using the Spearman rank correlation test. Values of p ≤0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Conclusões

The dynamic MRI is a reliable technique to identify morphological changes in the spinal canal, which might be a helpful technique to diagnose myelopathy cases that occur due to postural changes in the cervical spine. However, the changes in dynamic MRI does not seem to correlate to the mJOA individually