Clinical and neurophysiological characteristics of patients with neurogenic intermittent claudication at the lumbar level spinal stenosis

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of the study is to investigate the possibility of objectifying the nature and degree of spinal radicular structures and lumbar spinal cord dysfunction by using MEP-ENMG indicators.Materials. Preoperative results of 30 patients with neurogenic intermittent claudication in lumbar stenosis (LS) were analyzed.Results. MEP performance most significantly changed in patients who failed to cover a distance of 500 m (14 patients), those with bilateral symptoms (12), those with severity on the VAS scale for numbness of more than 8 points (12). Dependence of the indicators and the duration of disease was not established. After the walking tests 11 patients showed changes in NPh indicators: increase in (P<0.05) minimum latentсy of F-waves, increase in chronodyspersy ; increase in MEP and CCMT latentcy.Conclusions. Probable changes were determined in NPh indicators of functional condition of radicular and spinal structures, which to some extent reflect the severity of lumbar stenosis and which may be useful for substantiating the prognosis and tactics of treatment of such patients. The use of MEP-ENMG methods can improve diagnosis of the degree of dysfunction of peripheral and spinal structures in LS patients at the preoperative stage.