Spondylolisthesis with sciatica. Magnetic resonance findings and chemonucleolysis.

Fifteen patients with bilateral lumbar isthmic spondylolisthesis and unilateral sciatica were examined with magnetic resonance imaging. All patients had a disc protrusion at the level of the spondylolisthesis. Nine patients had a central herniated disc that caused dural sac deformation; in 6 of these patients there was extension to the disc tissue into the foramen. In 5 patients there was no clear dural sac deformation, but there was a foraminal disc protrusion that caused nerve root compression. In 1 patient there was a hernia lateral to the foramen. In none of the patients was there evidence of compression by bony elements. No abnormalities on adjacent levels were found. All 15 patients were treated with chemonucleolysis. There were no complications. A followup study was done after 19 months (range, 10-42 months). The result was rated as good or excellent in 10 of 12 patients with a spondylolisthesis of L5 and in 1 of 3 patients with a spondylolisthesis of L4. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a decrease in dural sac deformation in 4 patients, no clear decrease in 3, and a slight increase in 2. There were no distinct foraminal changes in 9 of 11 patients.

Isthmic lumbar spondylolisthesis with sciatica: the role of the disc.

Thirty-one patients with isthmic spondylolisthesis were investigated using MR imaging. Twenty-one of these patients had selectively unilateral sciatica and no abnormalities on adjacent discs. In 18 patients there was a clear correlation between the degree of foraminal stenosis and the symptomatic side. In 20 patients there was evidence of root compression by disc tissue.

Chemonucleolysis in the herniated L3-L4 disk.

In a continuous series of 770 patients with a herniated disk treated by chemonucleolysis, 16 patients had herniation of the L3-L4 disk (2.1%). There were no complications, and none of these 16 patients had open surgery after the initial treatment. A follow-up study was performed after 39 months (range, six to 80 months) in 15 patients. Three patients were for the most part satisfied and 12 patients were fully satisfied with the result of treatment. Residual pain was minor in most patients. Roentgenographic signs of increased disk degeneration were seen in six patients, and reexpansion of the disk to some degree was noted in four patients. Chemonucleolysis is effective for treatment of the herniated L3-L4 disk.

CT myelographic findings in degenerative disorders of the cervical spine: clinical significance.

CT myelographic data in 80 patients with clinical evidence of nerve-root involvement or long tract signs attributed to degenerative disorders of the cervical spine were classed into five diagnostic groups, and their clinical significance was assessed. Unilateral flattening of the cord by a spondylotic mass or bulging disk in a normally wide canal (group 1) was considered nonspecific because nerve-root signs were nearly as often contralateral as unilateral to the radiologic findings, and none of the patients had long tract signs. As a rule, conventional myelography showed only minor root-sleeve deformity. Concentric compression of the cord in a narrow (stenotic) canal (group 2) proved to produce long tract signs only after the cross-sectional area of the cord had been reduced by about 30% to a value of about 60 mm2 or less. In most cases, nerve-root swelling (group 3) coincided with the side of nerve-root symptoms. A 100% correlation was found between the side of disk herniation with occlusion of the corresponding foramen (group 4) and the side of nerve-root symptoms. In 24 patients, cord and nerve roots showed no abnormalities (group 5). If stenosis of the spinal canal, nerve root swelling, and disk herniation are considered specific CT myelographic signs in nerve-root symptomatology, a specific diagnosis could be made in about 40% of the cases.

A comparison of the Shwachman, Chrispin-Norman and Brasfield methods for scoring of chest radiographs of patients with cystic fibrosis.

Three systems are described for chest radiograph scoring in cystic fibrosis patients: the Shwachman-Kulczycki, the Chrispin-Norman and the Brasfield method. Sixty chest radiographs of 39 patients of different ages have been independently scored by two radiologists according to the three methods. No statistical differences between the methods could be demonstrated. The Chrispin-Norman method is recommended as the best choice because differences in scoring appeared better interpretable. A significant increase in precision could be achieved by combining the scores of the three methods.

Inability to prove instability. A critical appraisal of clinical-radiological flexion-extension studies in lumbar disc degeneration.

In two groups of patients with low back pain radiological flexion-extension studies were made (one in the standing position, the other in the lateral decubitus position), and the degree of mobility and location of instantaneous centres of motion determined between L2 and the sacrum. The study failed to demonstrate distinctly abnormal patterns of motion ('instability'). The main reason is that such problems, as shown in the biomechanical laboratory, are not reproduced in the clinical setting. Smaller abnormalities will remain undetected because of measurement errors of the method, making differentiation between normal and abnormal motion virtually impossible.

The projection of the calcified pineal gland on slightly rotated AP films as a reliable landmark. A CT study.

The projection of the pineal gland between the two outer tables of the skull in the AP film has been reconstructed on the basis of the CT print of the head, with and without lateral rotation. In this experimental approach it is proven that rotation up to 5 degrees does not influence the position of the pineal gland on the AP film. The range of the normal position of the pineal in the frontal plane is defined and the normal distribution is given.