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66th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Neurosurgery (DGNC)
Friendship Meeting with the Italian Society of Neurosurgery (SINch)

German Society of Neurosurgery (DGNC)

7 - 10 June 2015, Karlsruhe

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Suggesting an objective measure of pain and function in spine surgery – the Timed-up-and-go test

Meeting Abstract

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  • Marco-V. Corniola - Neurosurgery Department, Geneva University Hospital, Switzerland
  • Martin N. Stienen - Neurosurgery Department, Geneva University Hospital, Switzerland
  • Nicolas R. Smoll - Gippsland Medical School, Monash University, Churchill, Vic., Australia
  • Holger Joswig - Neurosurgery Department, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, Switzerland
  • Karl Schaller - Neurosurgery Department, Geneva University Hospital, Switzerland
  • Oliver P. Gautschi - Neurosurgery Department, Geneva University Hospital, Switzerland

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie. 66. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie (DGNC). Karlsruhe, 07.-10.06.2015. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2015. DocMI.01.04

doi: 10.3205/15dgnc252, urn:nbn:de:0183-15dgnc2523

Published: June 2, 2015

© 2015 Corniola et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Outline

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Objective: There are a multitude of methods to subjectively measure function in patients with lumbar spine disease. In addition to these already established and validated subjetive outcome measures, objective measures of disability may help to better evaluate the need for and the efficacy of treatment.

Method: In a prospective two-centre cohort study, patients with sciatica scheduled for lumbar spine surgery were tested pre- and postoperatively using the 'Timed-up-and-go Test' (TUG). In addition, tests such as the Rolland Morris Disability Index (RMDI), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) back/leg pain as well as the SF-12 and EQ-5D were used to validate pain, function, and health related quality of life (hrQoL).

Results: A preliminary sample of n=126 patients between 19 and 94 years (40% females, 74% non-smokers, median BMI 26.6 kg/m2, median VAS back/leg pain 3.75/5.25 (interquartile range (IQR) 4.5/4.0), median RMDI 13 (IQR 6.5), median ODI 52 (IQR 27) was analyzed and compared to a preliminary sample of n=36 healthy individuals (hospital coworkers). The TUG test 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles in this population were 7.5, 9 and 12.6 sec, respectively. The 99th percentile of the TUG results obtained in the control cohort was 5.9 sec (mean 4.5 sec, SD 0.74). When stratified for severity using the percentiles, test times were <7.5 seconds for no/mild impairment, 7.5-12.6 seconds for moderate impairment, and > 12.6 seconds for severe impairement. The objective TUG test results correllated with validated subjective measures of pain, disability (function) and hrQoL, namely the VAS leg pain, RMDI, ODI, EQ-5D and SF-12.

Conclusions: The TUG test proves to be a valid and reliable, but also quick, inexpensive and well-appreciated tool to objectively measure functional disability, which also relates to pain and hrQoL in patients with lumbar spine disease.