Comparative clinical and imaging study of C 3, 4 spondylotic myelopathy in different age groups / 中华骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To compare the clinical features, X-ray, CT, MRI imaging findings of C 3, 4 single segment cervical spondylotic myelopathy among the elderly group, the middle-aged group and the young group. Methods:The medical records and imaging data of 51 cases of single segment C 3, 4 cervical spondylotic myelopathy treated from January 2017 to December 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. There were 10 cases in the young group, including 8 males and 2 females, 23-44 years, with an average age of 35.8±7.62 years; 14 cases in the middle-aged group, including 9 males and 5 females, 48-60 years, with an average age of 53.21±4.14 years; 27 cases in the elderly group, including 24 males and 3 females, 61-84 years, with an average age of 68.04±5.97 years. Based on the medical record data, the differences in clinical manifestations among the three groups (initial symptoms, symptom distribution, pathological sign distribution and JOA score) were analyzed. Based on the imaging data, the static factors (cervical osteophyte, alignment and thickness of cervical ligamentum flavum) and dynamic factors [overall cervical range of motion (ROM), individual segment cervical ROM, cervical instability and cervical nuchal ligament calcification] were analyzed. Anatomical factors (C 2-C 7 Cobb angle, C 4-C 7 Cobb angle, C 3 vertebral canal diameter, C 4 vertebral diameter, C 3 Pavlov ratio, C 4 Pavlov ratio) and spinal cord compression (spinal cord signal, compression position and compression nature) were also analyzed. Results:There were no statistically significant difference in gender distribution and height in three groups of patients ( P>0.05). In terms of clinical manifestations, there were statistically significant differences among the three groups in initial symptoms and chief symptoms ( P<0.05). The elderly group had upper limb weakness as the first symptom, lower limb weakness and abnormal gait as the chief complaint; the middle-aged group had upper limb numbness as the first symptom, upper limb numbness and weakness as the chief complaint; the young group had upper limb pain as the first symptom, upper limb numbness as the chief complaint. There were statistically significant differences in Hoffmann sign and Babinski sign among the three groups ( P<0.05). Hoffmann sign and Babinski sign were more common in the elderly group than in the young group ( P<0.05). There were significant differences among the three groups in total JOA score, JOA score of motor and lower limb motor JOA ( P<0.05). The total JOA score in the elderly group was lower than that in the young group ( P<0.05), especially for motor JOA score ( P<0.05), and lower limb motor JOA score ( P<0.05). There were no significant differences in first symptoms distribution, symptoms distribution, biceps reflex, triceps reflex, radial reflex or knee tendon reflex among the three groups ( P>0.05). In terms of static factors, there was significant difference in alignment and thickness of cervical ligamentum flavum among the three groups (P<0.05). The elderly group was more prone to slip than the young and middle aged groups ( P<0.05). The thickness of ligamentum flavum in the elderly group (2.18±0.68 mm) was thicker than that in the young group (1.60±0.30 mm) and the middle-elderly group (1.60±0.62 mm) ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in cervical osteophyte among the three groups ( P>0.05). In terms of dynamic factors, there were statistically significant difference in C 3-C 7 ROM, C 4-C 7 ROM, C 3, 4 ROM and ossification of nuchal ligament among the three groups ( P<0.05). In the elderly group, C 3-C 7 ROM (22.18°) was larger than that in the young group (21.27°) ( P<0.05), while in the elderly group C 4-C 7 ROM (9.60°) was smaller than that in the young group (14.19°) ( P<0.05). In the elderly group, C 3, 4 ROM (15.30°) was larger than that in the young group (9.97°) ( P<0.05), and the elderly group was more prone to nuchal ligament calcification than the young and the middle-elderly group ( P<0.05). There were no significant difference among the three groups in C 4, 5 ROM, C 5, 6 ROM, C 6, 7 ROM or cervical instability ( P>0.05). For spinal cord compression, there were statistically significant differences among the three groups in the compression nature, compression location and MRI T2WI spinal cord signal ( P<0.05). The elderly group was more prone to anterior and posterior bony compression. The elderly group was more likely to show high signal intensity on spinal cord MRI T2WI than the young group ( P<0.05). For anatomical factors, there were statistically significant differences in C 2-C 7 Cobb, C 3 vertebral diameter and C 3 Pavolv among the three groups ( P<0.05) . The C 2-C 7 Cobb of the elderly group (21.06°) was larger than that of the young group (16.45°) ( P<0.05), and the C 3 diameter of the elderly group (9.61±0.33 mm) was smaller than that of the young group (10.38±1.19 mm) ( P<0.05). The C 3 Pavolv of the elderly group (0.52±0.03) was lower than that of the young group (0.59±0.11) ( P<0.05). In the presence of lordosis, C 4-C 7 Cobb in the elderly group (4.96°±4.05°) was smaller than that in the young group (12.42°±4.83°) and the middle-aged group (10.07°±6.14°) ( P<0.05). In the presence of kyphosis, C 4-C 7 Cobb in the elderly group (4.02°±1.19°) was larger than that in the young group (0.06°±0.01°) and the middle-aged group (1.83°±0.93°) ( P<0.05). There were no significant differences in C 3-C 7 Cobb, C 4 vertebral diameter or C 4 Pavolv among the three groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion:Young patients mostly have anteriorly soft compression of disc herniation, and most of them complain of neck and upper limb pain, while spinal cord compression and clinical manifestations are relatively mild. For the elderly patients, most of them have C 3 retrolisthesis, with the pinching type bony compression of spinal cord from both anteriorly and posteriorly, and their complaints are usually upper limb numbness, mostly accompanied by radiographically severe spinal cord compression and clinically gait abnormalities. In the middle-aged patients, the rigid compression of anterior calcified disc herniation is the main reason, and the numbness of upper limb is the chief complain.