J Korean Soc Spine Surg.  2006 Jun;13(2):81-86. 10.4184/jkss.2006.13.2.81.

The Correlation Between Radiographic and Clinical Results after Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion

• You JW
• Sohn HM
• Lee JY
• Lee CG

• KMID: 2097822
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4184/jkss.2006.13.2.81

Abstract

STUDY DESIGN: This is a prospective study.
OBJECTIVES
We wanted to analyse the correlation between the radiographic and clinical results after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for treating degenerative cervical diseases. Summary of Literature REVIEW: ACDF is a successful procedure for treating the degenerative cervical spine. Many studies have reported on radiographic results and clinical outcomes of this procedure. However, few studies have examined the relationships between the changes of the radiographic parameters and the clinical results after ACDF.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
26 patients who had single level ACDF performed for degenerative cervical diseases during the period between Jan, 2000 and Dec, 2004 were evaluated. All the patients underwent autologous iliac bone graft and plate fixation. The radiographic parameters, including the disc height, the disc space angulation and the spinous process distance were measured at the preoperative period, post operative 1 month and the last follow up period, respectively. The clinical changes were measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS) for neck and arm pain at the preoperative and last follow up period. The correlations between the radiographic parameters and the clinical outcomes were assessed by Pearson correlation.
RESULTS
There were significant changes in disc height (6.7-7.9 mm) as well as disc space angulation (kyphosis: 1.1degrees, lordosis: 3.4degrees). The reduction in the neck pain VAS score (63.9-33.1) and the arm pain VAS score (57.9-29.7) was significant. None of the correlations between the radiographic parameters and the clinical outcomes were significant (p>0.05).
CONCLUSION
Although the clinical outcomes improved significantly, there was no significant correlation between the radiographic parameters and clinical results after performing single level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for the degenerative cervical disease.

Keyword

Degenerative cervical disease; Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion; Disc height; Disc angle; Spinous process distance

MeSH Terms

Animals
Arm
Diskectomy*
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Lordosis
Neck
Neck Pain
Preoperative Period
Prospective Studies
Spine
Transplants

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Radiograph showing linear and angular measurement. DH, disc height; A, disc space angle; SP, spinous process distance.

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  Fig. 2. Correlation between final disc height and neck pain and arm pain. There was no significant correlation. r, correlation coefficient.

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  Fig. 3. Correlation between final disc space angle and neck pain and arm pain. There was no significant correlation. r, correlation coefficient.

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