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A prospective 3-year randomized study comparing conservative and surgical treatment of spondylotic cervical myelopathy to establish predictive factors for outcome after conservative treatment and surgery. The clinical, electrophysiological and imaging parameters were examined to reveal how they characterized the clinical outcome. Statistically, pair-wise and multiple comparisons of different were used with the independent t-test and on one-way anova models followed by Tukey multiple-range tests. The patients with a good outcome in the conservatively treated group were of older age before treatment, had normal central motor conduction time (CMCT), and possessed a larger transverse area of the spinal cord. The patients with a good outcome in the surgically treated group had a more serious clinical picture (expressed in mJOA score and slower walk). Patients should rather be treated conservatively if they a spinal transverse area larger than 70 mm2, are of older age, and have normal CMCT. Surgery is more suitable for patients with clinically worse status and a lesser transverse area of spinal cord.

A prospective 3-year randomized study comparing conservative and surgical treatment of spondylotic cervical myelopathy to establish predictive factors for outcome after conservative treatment and surgery. The clinical, electrophysiological and imaging parameters were examined to reveal how they characterized the clinical outcome. The patients with a good outcome in the conservatively treated group were of older age before treatment, had normal central motor conduction time (CMCT), and possessed a larger transverse area of the spinal cord. The patients with a good outcome in the surgically treated group had a more serious clinical picture (expressed in mJOA score and slower walk). Patients should rather be treated conservatively if they have a spinal transverse area larger than 70 mm2, are of older age and have normal CMCT. Surgery is more suitable for patients with clinically worse status and a lesser transverse area of spinal cord.

Study Design: A 3-year prospective randomized study was conducted., Objective: To compare conservative and operative treatments of mild and moderate, nonprogressive, and slowly progressive forms of spondylotic cervical myelopathy., Summary of Background: DATA It is not known whether the results of decompressive surgery for the mild and moderate forms of spondylotic cervical myelopathy are any better than those of the conservative approach., Methods: For this study, 68 patients were randomized into two groups. Group A, treated conservatively, consisted of 35 subjects, whereas Group B, treated surgically, was composed of 33 patients. The clinical outcome was evaluated by modified JOA score, timed 10-m walk, the score for daily activities recorded by video and evaluated by two observers blinded to the type of therapy, and subjective assessment by the patients themselves at months 6, 12, 24, and 36 of the follow-up period., Results: There was, on the average, no significant deterioration in mJOA score in the two groups over the 3-year follow-up period, but there was a slightly expressed decrease in the self-evaluation score in Group B, and a slight deterioration of the score for daily activities in Group A. Comparison of the two groups showed a significant difference in the timed 10-m walk test favoring group A, but no difference in mJOA score or self-evaluation by the patients themselves, with the exception of a better score at month 6 in favor of Group B., Conclusions: The 3-year follow-up study did not show, on the average, that the surgery is superior to conservative treatment for mild and moderate forms of spondylotic cervical myelopathy.

A prospective randomised 2-year study was performed to compare the conservative and operative treatment of mild and moderate forms of spondylotic cervical myelopathy (SCM). Forty-eight patients presenting with the clinical syndrome of SCM, with a modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) score of 12 points or more, were randomised into two groups. Group A, treated conservatively, consisted of 27 patients, mean age 55.6 +/- 8.6 years, while group B was treated surgically (21 patients, mean age 52.7 +/- 8.1 years). The clinical outcome was measured by the mJOA score, recovery rate (RR), timed 10 m walk, score of daily activities (recorded by video and evaluated by two observers blinded to the therapy), and by the subjective assessment of the patients at 6, 12, and 24 months of the follow-up. There was, on average, no significant deterioration in mJOA score, recovery ratio, or timed 10 m walk within either group during the 2 years of follow-up. In the surgery group there was a slight decline in the scores for daily activities and subjective evaluation. A comparison of the two groups showed no significant differences in changes over time in mJOA score or quantified gait, but there were significant differences in the score of daily activities recorded by video at 24 months, which was a little lower in the surgical group, and also in RR and subjective evaluation, which were both worse in the surgical group at months 12 and 24. However, at month 6, this last parameter was significantly better in the surgical than in conservative group. Surgical treatment of mild and moderate forms of SCM in the present study design, comprising the patients with no or very slow, insidious progression and a relatively long duration of symptoms, did not show better results than conservative treatment over the 2-year follow-up.