title: Prognostic value of early computed tomography in radiculopathy due to lumbar intervertebral disk herniation. A prospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To prospectively evaluate the relationship between the early computerized tomography (CT) features of disk herniation and the clinical outcome in patients with recent-onset sciatic or femoral neuralgia treated conservatively. Early CT is often used, despite the absence of data on usefulness for predicting outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Of 78 patients with sciatica or femoral neuralgia of less than 1 month's duration, presumably due to a disk herniation, 75 were found by CT to have a disk herniation at the expected level. All patients were treated conservatively. The 60 patients who were reassessed clinically after 3 months were included in the study. Based on the results of the clinical assessment, the patients were classified as having a good outcome (complete or partial recovery) or a poor outcome. CT findings were compared in these two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  None of the features of disk herniation studied on the CT scans were significantly correlated with the clinical outcome. A larger herniation or presence of a free fragment was more common in the good outcome group, but the differences were not statistically significant (P= 0.07).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, early CT scan did not predict the clinical outcome of patients with nerve root pain from lumbar disk herniation. None of the CT criteria was associated with a poor clinical outcome. Early CT scan has no prognostic value in this setting.
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology Department, Saint Antoine Hospital, 184, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, 75012 Paris, France. cathbeauv1@aol.com
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beauvais
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wybier
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chazerain
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harboun
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lioté
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roucoulès
authors.forename: Anne Claude
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Koeger
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bellaiche
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Orcel
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bardin
authors.forename: Jean-Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ziza
authors.forename: Jean Denis
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Laredo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome