抄録
The authors assessed clinical outcome and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients who have undergone cervical decompression. The study involved a prospective cohort of 10 surgically treated patients (eight men and two women, aged: 51-82 years) with cervical compression myelopathy. The clinical state and HRQOL of the patients were assessed by the scoring system of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA score) and the MOS 36-item short form health survey (SF-36) before treatment and after 6 months after surgery. The results of both instruments were compared. JOA score showed that clinical state improved after surgery (preoperative score: 10.5±3.4, postoperative score: 14.0±3.0). Three SF-36 categories (VT, SF, and MH) improved after surgery. However, neither the mental nor the physical summary component of the SF-36 score demonstrated improvement. No significant correlation was observed between the improvements in JOA and SF-36 scores. These results suggest that the objective (doctor-oriented) outcome evaluated by the JOA is not correlated to the HRQOL.
