Search

Purpose This review aimed to identify effective physical performance tests (PPT) as clinical outcome indicators for detecting and monitoring degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM). Methods A comprehensive literature search was performed on seven electronic databases on the effectiveness in detection and monitoring of DCM by PPT. All included studies were reviewed and undergone quality assessments on the risk-of-bias by Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and were pooled by random-effect analysis with level of significance at 0.05. Homogeneity among studies was assessed by I2-statistics and effect of PPT was confirmed by Cohen’s d effect size and confidence intervals. Results Totally, 3111 articles were retrieved, and 19 studies were included for review and meta-analysis. There were 13 studies investigating PPT regarding the upper limbs and 12 studies regarding the lower limbs. Performance in 10-second-Grip-and-Release Test (G&R) and 9-Hole-Peg Test (9HPT) was studied in 10 and 3 articles, respectively, while 10-second-Stepping Test (SST), 30-meter-Walking Test (30MWT) and Foot-Tapping Test (FTT) for lower limbs were studied in 5, 4, and 3 articles correspondingly. Only 1 study utilized the Triangle-Stepping Test. High-quality study with fair risk-of-bias was revealed from Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Large effect size facilitated detection and monitoring in DCM was unveiling for G&R, 9HPT, SST, and 30MWT. FTT, while also effective, was hindered by a high-degree heterogeneity in the meta-analysis. Conclusion Effective PPT including G&R, 9HPT, SST, 30MWT, and FTT was identified for disease detection and monitoring in DCM.

This review aimed to identify effective physical performance tests (PPT) as clinical outcome indicators for detecting and monitoring degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM).A comprehensive literature search was performed on seven electronic databases on the effectiveness in detection and monitoring of DCM by PPT. All included studies were reviewed and undergone quality assessments on the risk-of-bias by Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and were pooled by random-effect analysis with level of significance at 0.05. Homogeneity among studies was assessed by ITotally, 3111 articles were retrieved, and 19 studies were included for review and meta-analysis. There were 13 studies investigating PPT regarding the upper limbs and 12 studies regarding the lower limbs. Performance in 10-second-Grip-and-Release Test (GR) and 9-Hole-Peg Test (9HPT) was studied in 10 and 3 articles, respectively, while 10-second-Stepping Test (SST), 30-meter-Walking Test (30MWT) and Foot-Tapping Test (FTT) for lower limbs were studied in 5, 4, and 3 articles correspondingly. Only 1 study utilized the Triangle-Stepping Test. High-quality study with fair risk-of-bias was revealed from Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Large effect size facilitated detection and monitoring in DCM was unveiling for GR, 9HPT, SST, and 30MWT. FTT, while also effective, was hindered by a high-degree heterogeneity in the meta-analysis.Effective PPT including GR, 9HPT, SST, 30MWT, and FTT was identified for disease detection and monitoring in DCM.

Study Design Systematic review and meta-analysis Objectives The present review aimed to summarize the evidence regarding differences in proprioception between children with and without adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Methods Seven electronic databases were searched from their inception to April 10, 2021. Articles were included if they involved: (1) AIS patients aged between 10 and 18 years, (2) measurements of proprioceptive abilities, and (3) comparisons with non-AIS controls. Animal studies, case reports, commentaries, conference proceedings, research protocols, and reviews were excluded. Two reviewers independently conducted literature screening, data extraction, risks of bias assessments, and quality of evidence evaluations. Relevant information was pooled for meta-analyses. Results From 432 identified citations, 11 case-control studies comprising 1121 participants were included. The meta-analyses showed that AIS participants displayed proprioceptive deficits as compared to non-AIS controls. Moderate evidence supported that AIS participants showed significantly larger repositioning errors than healthy controls (pooled mean difference = 1.27 degrees, P < .01). Low evidence substantiated that AIS participants had significantly greater motion detection threshold (pooled mean difference = 1.60 degrees, P < .01) and abnormal somatosensory evoked potentials (pooled mean difference = .36 milliseconds, P = .01) than non-AIS counterparts. Conclusions Consistent findings revealed that proprioceptive deficits occurred in AIS patients. Further investigations on the causal relationship between AIS and proprioception, and the identification of the subgroup of AIS patients with proprioceptive deficit are needed.

Background Although multiple studies have investigated risk factors for symptomatic adjacent segment disease (ASD) after lumbar fusion, their findings were diverse and inconsistent. This review aimed to summarize risk factors for ASD in order to guide the management of ASD and future research. Methods Six electronic databases were systematically searched from inception to December 2019. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full-text articles to identify studies investigating risk factors for ASD after lumbar fusion in humans. The methodological quality of the included studies and the strength of evidence regarding risk factors were evaluated. Results Sixteen studies involving 3,553 patients were included. Meta-analyses revealed that high body mass index, facet joint violation, anterior shift of the preoperative and postoperative lumbosacral sagittal plumb line, decreased preoperative and postoperative lumbar lordosis, preoperative adjacent disc degeneration, decreased preoperative adjacent disc height, increased postoperative lumbopelvic mismatch, postoperative pelvic incidence, and postoperative pelvic tilt were significantly related to ASD. Conclusions This meta-analysis addressed the limitations of prior reviews and summarized evidence with regard to risk factors for ASD following lumbar fusion. Future prospective studies should investigate whether modification of these risk factors can reduce the ASD development. Level of evidence Prognostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.