دورية أكاديمية

Bias in the physical examination of patients with lumbar radiculopathy

التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
العنوان: Bias in the physical examination of patients with lumbar radiculopathy
المؤلفون: Katz Jeffrey N, Hunter David J, Suri Pradeep, Li Ling, Rainville James
المصدر: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, Vol 11, Iss 1, p 275 (2010)
بيانات النشر: BMC
سنة النشر: 2010
المجموعة: Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles
مصطلحات موضوعية: Diseases of the musculoskeletal system, RC925-935
الوصف: Background No prior studies have examined systematic bias in the musculoskeletal physical examination. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of bias due to prior knowledge of lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging findings (MRI) on perceived diagnostic accuracy of the physical examination for lumbar radiculopathy. Methods This was a cross-sectional comparison of the performance characteristics of the physical examination with blinding to MRI results (the 'independent group') with performance in the situation where the physical examination was not blinded to MRI results (the 'non-independent group'). The reference standard was the final diagnostic impression of nerve root impingement by the examining physician. Subjects were recruited from a hospital-based outpatient specialty spine clinic. All adults age 18 and older presenting with lower extremity radiating pain of duration ≤ 12 weeks were evaluated for participation. 154 consecutively recruited subjects with lumbar disk herniation confirmed by lumbar spine MRI were included in this study. Sensitivities and specificities with 95% confidence intervals were calculated in the independent and non-independent groups for the four components of the radiculopathy examination: 1) provocative testing, 2) motor strength testing, 3) pinprick sensory testing, and 4) deep tendon reflex testing. Results The perceived sensitivity of sensory testing was higher with prior knowledge of MRI results (20% vs. 36%; p = 0.05). Sensitivities and specificities for exam components otherwise showed no statistically significant differences between groups. Conclusions Prior knowledge of lumbar MRI results may introduce bias into the pinprick sensory testing component of the physical examination for lumbar radiculopathy. No statistically significant effect of bias was seen for other components of the physical examination. The effect of bias due to prior knowledge of lumbar MRI results should be considered when an isolated sensory deficit on examination is used in ...
نوع الوثيقة: article in journal/newspaper
اللغة: English
تدمد: 1471-2474
العلاقة: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2474/11/275Test; https://doaj.org/toc/1471-2474Test; https://doaj.org/article/f762f8b55c9345dbadadb77ae3ae58ffTest
DOI: 10.1186/1471-2474-11-275
الإتاحة: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2474-11-275Test
https://doaj.org/article/f762f8b55c9345dbadadb77ae3ae58ffTest
رقم الانضمام: edsbas.E9D57EA4
قاعدة البيانات: BASE
الوصف
تدمد:14712474
DOI:10.1186/1471-2474-11-275