The Magnetic Resonance Imaging Score Of Spinal Cord Compression After Surgery In Cervical Spondylitic Myelopathy And Its Correlation With Clinical Prognosis

Objective:To investigate the correlation between MRI score and recovery rate ofspinal cord compression and JOA score and recovery rate after surgery incervical spondylitic myelopathy.Methods:From January2010to December2012, thirty consecutive patients(18men and12women; mean age,57.1±8.9years, range45-73years) withmultilevel cervical spondylitic myelopathy(CSM), were referred to ourhospital and underwent surgical treatment. A retrospective study of theirMRI and JOA score before and after surgery was performed. Evaluatingtheir MRI material before and6months after surgery, according to MRIgrading system of spinal cord compression in CSM. The highest score is30while the lowest is0, the higher the score is, the worse the compressionon MRI. Also the recovery rate of spinal cord compression was evaluated,(pre-operative score—post-operative score)/pre-operative score×100%.Investigating the correlation between MRI score of spinal cordcompression and JOA score after surgery, and the recovery rate. Results:After6months follow-up, JOA score increased from9.3±2.4preoperatively to12.9±1.8postoperatively，the recovery rate is47.4±14.7%; the MRI score decreased from10.5±3.9preoperatively to6.1±2.7postoperatively, the recovery rate is40.8±15.9%. Analyzing theSpearman correlation between MRI score and JOA score after surgery, thescore was negatively correlated(r=-0.699, p<0.01), the recovery rate waspositively correlated(r=0.376, p=0.041<0.05).Conclusion:The magnetic resonance imaging score of spinal cord compressionafter surgery in CSM can not only evaluate the radiographic improvementafter surgery, but also predict clinical prognosis effectively.