1. Spinal cord swelling in patients with cervical compression myelopathy
- Author
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Yusuke Sato, Naohiro Tachibana, Yasushi Oshima, Yuki Taniguchi, Sakae Tanaka, So Kato, Takeshi Oichi, Yoshitaka Matsubayashi, Harushi Mori, Hiroyuki Hasebe, and Shima Hirai
- Subjects
Male ,lcsh:Diseases of the musculoskeletal system ,Time Factors ,law.invention ,Intramedullary rod ,Myelopathy ,0302 clinical medicine ,Interquartile range ,law ,Cervical spondylosis ,Edema ,Orthopedics and Sports Medicine ,Aged, 80 and over ,030222 orthopedics ,Early-onset ,Laminectomy ,Middle Aged ,Prognosis ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Treatment Outcome ,Spinal Cord ,Cervical Vertebrae ,Intramedullary hyperintense lesion ,Female ,Research Article ,Adult ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Cord ,Time-to-Treatment ,03 medical and health sciences ,Sex Factors ,Rheumatology ,medicine ,Humans ,Aged ,Retrospective Studies ,Rapid disease progression ,030203 arthritis & rheumatology ,business.industry ,medicine.disease ,Spinal cord ,Sagittal plane ,Surgery ,Spinal cord edema ,Orthopedic surgery ,Spondylosis ,lcsh:RC925-935 ,business ,Spinal Cord Compression - Abstract
Background Intramedullary hyperintense lesions associated with spinal cord edema on T2-weighted MR images (T2WI) are rare findings in patients with cervical spondylosis and are poorly characterized. We investigated the clinical characteristics of spinal cord edema due to cervical spondylosis (SCECS). Methods In total, 214 patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy who underwent surgery between April 2007 and March 2017 were divided into SCECS and non-SCECS groups with SCECS defined as follows: (1) intramedullary signal intensity (ISI) of the cervical spinal cord in sagittal T2WI extending to more than one vertebral body height; (2) “fuzzy” ISI, recognized as a faint intramedullary change with a largely indistinct and hazy border; and (3) a larger sagittal diameter of the spinal cord segment with ISI just above or below the cord compression area compared with areas of the cervical spine without ISI. Radiographic parameters, demographic characteristics, and the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) surgical outcomes score were compared between the groups. Results Seventeen patients (7.9%) were diagnosed with SCECS. These patients were younger than those in the non-SCECS group [median (interquartile range), 64 (20) vs. 69 (15) years, respectively, p = 0.016], and the disease duration from onset to surgery was significantly shorter in the SCECS group than in the non-SCECS group [6 (7) vs. 20 (48) months, respectively]. No significant difference was observed between groups with respect to sex, radiologic findings, or surgical outcomes. Conclusion The disease showed an earlier onset and more rapid progression in the patients with SCECS than in those without SCECS.
- Published
- 2018