Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26842881›Full record

ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2016

A diagnostic study in patients with sciatica establishing the importance of localization of worsening of pain during coughing, sneezing and straining to assess nerve root compression on MRI.

Annemieke J H Verwoerd, Jan Mens, Abdelilah El Barzouhi, Wilco C Peul, Bart W Koes, Arianne P Verhagen

Registry-linked trialOpen access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03924791 (Transforaminal Epidural Injection in Acute Sciatica), which is not on this map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03924791 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2019, after this paper: background citation

Transforaminal Epidural Injection in Acute Sciatica

TypeinterventionalSponsorC.L.A.Vleggeert-LankampRan2019 to 2026Enrolled142ConditionsSciatica, Sciatica Due to Intervertebral Disc Disorder, Sciatic RadiculopathyArmsLidocaine, Methylprednisolone Acetate, Dexamethasone
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. The Michel Benoist and Robert Mulholland yearly European Spine Journal Review: a survey of the "medical" articles in the European Spine Journal, 2016.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2017
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Annemieke J H VerwoerdDepartment of General Practice, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. j.verwoerd@erasmusmc.nl.
Jan MensDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Abdelilah El BarzouhiDepartment of Neurosurgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Wilco C PeulDepartment of Neurosurgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Bart W KoesDepartment of General Practice, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Arianne P VerhagenDepartment of General Practice, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Erasmus MC · NLLeiden University Medical Center · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo test whether the localization of worsening of pain during coughing, sneezing and straining matters in the assessment of lumbosacral nerve root compression or disc herniation on MRI.

methodsRecently the diagnostic accuracy of history items to assess disc herniation or nerve root compression on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was investigated. A total of 395 adult patients with severe sciatica of 6-12 weeks duration were included in this study. The question regarding the influence of coughing, sneezing and straining on the intensity of pain could be answered on a 4 point scale: no worsening of pain, worsening of back pain, worsening of leg pain, worsening of back and leg pain. Diagnostic odds ratio's (DORs) were calculated for the various dichotomization options.

resultsThe DOR changed into significant values when the answer option was more narrowed to worsening of leg pain. The highest DOR was observed for the answer option 'worsening of leg pain' with a DOR of 2.28 (95 % CI 1.28-4.04) for the presence of nerve root compression and a DOR of 2.50 (95 % CI 1.27-4.90) for the presence of a herniated disc on MRI.

conclusionsWorsening of leg pain during coughing, sneezing or straining has a significant diagnostic value for the presence of nerve root compression and disc herniation on MRI in patients with sciatica. This study also highlights the importance of the formulation of answer options in history taking.

Indexed as

Magnetic Resonance ImagingRadiculopathySciaticaAdultCoughFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSneezingDiagnosisIntervertebral disc displacementMedical history takingPainSciaticaSpecificity

Identifiers

PMID26842881
OpenAlexW2258623411

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.