The use of a novel tablet application to quantify dysfunction in cervical spondylotic myelopathy patients

The Spine Journal : Official Journal of the North American Spine Society
Brett D RosenthalAlpesh A Patel

Abstract

Despite the prevalence and importance of myelopathy, there is a paucity of objective and quantitative clinical measures. The most commonly used diagnostic tools available are nonquantitative physical exam findings (eg, pathologic reflexes, and gait disturbance) and subjective scoring systems (eg, modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association [mJOA]). A decline in fine motor coordination is a hallmark of early myelopathy, which may be useful for quantitative testing. To identify if a novel tablet application could provide a quantitative measure of upper extremity dysfunction in cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Prospective cohort study Patient Sample: Adult patients with a diagnosis of cervical spondylotic myelopathy from a board-certified, spine surgeon were compared with age-matched, healthy, and adult control patients. Self-reported function was assessed via the mJOA. Upper extremity function was measured via the fine motor skills (FiMS) tablet test. Subjects and controls prospectively completed the mJOA paper survey and the FiMS tablet testing, which consisted of four challenges. After age-matching, 65 controls and 28 myelopathic patients were available for comparison. The mean mJOA was 13.5 ± 2.9 in the myelopathic cohort and 17...Continue Reading

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