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Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) was established by Fairbank in 1989 to assess functional disabilities in low back pain (LBP). It was last updated in 2019 as ODI version 2.1b (ODI AU_2.1b). ODI was first translated into Simplified Chinese Oswestry Disability Index (CODI) in 2008 by Lue. The construct validity, internal consistency, level of agreement and the floor and ceiling effects of CODI were found unclear by Yao in 2016. This study will verify how well the adapted Cantonese–Hong Kong Oswestry Disability Index version 2.1b (HKCODI) aligns with ODI AU_2.1b in the Southern Chinese population. The translation of ODI AU_2.1b was performed according to guidelines from MAPI Research Trust and American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Psychometric properties of HKCODI were tested statistically by Pearson’s correlation, Cronbach’s Alpha and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). A total of 200 subjects (109 males, 91 females) aged from 15 to 85 (mean age = 58.91) with LBP scored from 3/10 to 10/10 in the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were recruited in the Occupational Therapy Department of a tertiary referral center. HKCODI demonstrated strong construct validity in comparing with Hong Kong Roland–Morris Disability Questionnaire (HKRMDQ) (r = 0.666, p = 0.000), Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) Physical Composite Summary (− 0.700, p = 0.000) and VAS (0.487, p = 0.000). Excellent internal consistency and test–retest reliability were confirmed with Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.997 and ICC of 0.993 at 95% confidence level. Cross-cultural adaptation of ODI AU_2.1b has been translated and validated as HKCODI and Item-8 (Sex Life) was suggested to skip for patient older than 60. HKCODI is a fully self-administered and highly reliable tool in assessing the functional disability of patients with LBP in the Southern Chinese population.

The study aimed for unraveling the long-term health impact of cumulative radiation exposure from full-spine radiographs on children/adolescents with scoliosis. All cohort, case–control or cross-sectional studies about radiation exposure to scoliosis patients with follow-up period as 20 years or more were included. Meta-analyses were performed for outcomes reported in two or more studies. A total of 9 eligible studies involving 35,641 participants between 1912 and 1990 fulfilled the inclusion criteria, including 18,873 patients with scoliosis and 16,768 controls as regional matched general population. The average number of full-spine radiographs was 23.13 (range: 0–618) according to 14,512 patients between 1912 and 1990 in five studies. The estimated mean cumulated radiation dose of breast was 11.35 cGy. In comparison with controls, pooled incidence rates of cancer, breast cancer and cancer mortality of patients with scoliosis were statistically significant higher [rate of cancer, odds risk (OR) = 1.46, p

Lack of normal reference value of diffusion tensor imaging parameters hinders its application in clinical practice. In this study, we aim to establish a comprehensive normal DTI database of Chinese subjects. Sixty-five healthy subjects aged 21–61 years were recruited and underwent 3T DTI scan of cervical spine. DTI parameters were measured in whole cord, ventral, lateral and dorsal column from C2 to C7 segments. Regions, segments, gender and age-related changes of DTI parameters were analyzed. No significant difference was found between genders (p > 0.05). DTI parameters significantly differed among different cord levels (p

Introduction Spinal tuberculosis represents a challenging disease to treat, not because of the technical expertise or the time required to cure it, but more so because of the decisions involved to treat it. The Medical Research Council (MRC) Working Party on Tuberculosis of the Spine designed trials to help address several questions. Methods A comprehensive literature search was performed using PubMed Medline, including English articles from 1934 to 1012, which pertain to spinal tuberculosis, with special effort in tracing the 13 MRC reports. The primary focus was on disease eradication, fusion rate, and a secondary focus on both short and long-term results in terms of disease recurrence and alignment. Additional searches were made on the use of spinal implants for infection cases. Results After reviewing MRC and non-MRC reports, it was evident that the “Hong Kong operation”, which involved radical debridement and strut grafting the lesion, produced better short-, medium- and long-term results in such aspects as fusion rate, spinal deformity and relapse of abscess/sinus. Subsequent work by others demonstrated the importance of prevention of progressive kyphosis, therefore the need to identify risk factors for these and pre-emptive measures such as kyphosis correction, careful graft selection, and instrumentation. Conclusion Improvement in quality of life is also accompanied by higher patient expectations. Though developing nations may lack the resources now, eventually patients will demand better functional and cosmetic results after being afflicted by this disfiguring and potentially disabling disease, and the “Hong Kong operation” represented the best outcome, provided resources were available.

The online version of the original article can be found under doi:10.1007/s00586-012-2455-0.