Abstract

BORRELL-CARRIO, F. et al. Can we predict cervicoarthrosis clinically?. Medifam [online]. 2003, vol.13, n.4, pp.29-33. ISSN 1131-5768.

Background: ignorance of the value of the physical cervical exploration.  Objective: to establish the predictivity and utility of several cervical maneuvres in relation to cervicoarthrosis. Design: descriptive transversal study with systematic sampling.  Patients and methods: a series of 100 patients whom were realized a cervical radiological exploration in the Radiodiagnosis Service (from January to March 2000), were evaluated with two physical explorations (cervical rotation test measured with a static goniometer and chest-chin test). The results were compared with the evaluation we obtain of the radiological exploration that was realized by a radiologists who did not know the result of the clinical exploration.  Results: when the lateral cervical rotation was smaller than 56 degrees, we obtained a positive predictive value of 85%, a sensibility of 81% and a specificity of 61%. The cervical clinical assesment with these two tests was correlated in a significant way with the radiological examination, without achieving a significant Kappa index. A maneuver of normal cervical rotation (same or bigger than 70 degrees) excluded cervicoartrosis.  Conclusions: the cervical rotation test has a clinical relevance and the combination with other exploratory maneouvres act as a clinical tool for the radiological evaluation.

Keywords : Cervicoarthrosis; Physicial diagnosis; X-ray diagnosis.

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