Diagnosing Discogenic Low Back Pain Associated with Degenerative Disc Disease Using a Medical Interview.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the usefulness of our original five questions in a medical interview for diagnosing discogenic low back pain (LBP), and to establish a support tool for diagnosing discogenic LBP.


METHODS
The degenerative disc disease (DDD) group (n = 42) comprised patients diagnosed with discogenic LBP associated with DDD, on the basis of magnetic resonance imaging findings and response to analgesic discography (discoblock). The control group (n = 30) comprised patients with LBP due to a reason other than DDD. We selected patients from those who had been diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis and had undergone decompression surgery without fusion. Of them, those whose postoperative LBP was significantly decreased were included in the control group. We asked patients in both groups whether they experienced LBP after sitting too long, while standing after sitting too long, squirming in a chair after sitting too long, while washing one's face, and in the standing position with flexion. We analyzed the usefulness of our five questions for diagnosing discogenic LBP, and performed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to develop a diagnostic support tool.


RESULTS
There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics, except age, between the groups. There were significant differences between the groups for all five questions. In the age-adjusted analyses, the odds ratios of LBP after sitting too long, while standing after sitting too long, squirming in a chair after sitting too long, while washing one's face, and in standing position with flexion were 10.5, 8.5, 4.0, 10.8, and 11.8, respectively. The integer scores were 11, 9, 4, 11, and 12, respectively, and the sum of the points of the five scores ranged from 0 to 47. Results of the ROC analysis were as follows: cut-off value, 31 points; area under the curve, 0.92302; sensitivity, 100%; and specificity, 71.4%.


CONCLUSIONS
All five questions were useful for diagnosing discogenic LBP. We established the scoring system as a support tool for diagnosing discogenic LBP.
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Kanto Rosai Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan.
Juichi
J
Tonosu
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Inanami Spine and Joint Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.|Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Iwai Orthopaedic Medical Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Hirohiko
H
Inanami
Department of Medical Research and Management for Musculoskeletal Pain, 22nd Century Medical and Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.|Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Hiroyuki
H
Oka
Department of Prosthetics & Orthotics and Assistive Technology, Faculty of Medical Technology, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan.
Junji
J
Katsuhira
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Inanami Spine and Joint Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.|Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Iwai Orthopaedic Medical Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Yuichi
Y
Takano
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Inanami Spine and Joint Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.|Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Iwai Orthopaedic Medical Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Hisashi
H
Koga
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Inanami Spine and Joint Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.|Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Iwai Orthopaedic Medical Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Yohei
Y
Yuzawa
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Iwai Orthopaedic Medical Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Ryutaro
R
Shiboi
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Yasushi
Y
Oshima
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Iwai Orthopaedic Medical Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Satoshi
S
Baba
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Sakae
S
Tanaka
Department of Medical Research and Management for Musculoskeletal Pain, 22nd Century Medical and Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.|Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Ko
K
Matsudaira
D000368:Aged; D001415:Back / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000473:pathology*; D055959:Intervertebral Disc Degeneration / Q000473:pathology*; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000473:pathology; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology