• Kazuya Oshima, Motoki Iwasaki, Hironobu Sakaura, Takahito Fujimori, Yukitaka Nagamoto, and Hideki Yoshikawa.
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan. ; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Osaka, Japan.
• Asian Spine J. 2015 Feb 1;9(1):47-53.

Study DesignProspective cohort study.PurposeTo identify differences in time-dependent perioperative changes between the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score and the JOA Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire (JOACMEQ) score in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) and posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) who underwent cervical laminoplasty.Overview Of LiteratureThe JOA score does not take into consideration patient satisfaction or quality of life. Accordingly, the JOACMEQ was designed in 2007 as a patient-centered assessment tool.MethodsWe studied 21 patients who underwent cervical laminoplasty. We objectively evaluated the time-dependent changes in JOACMEQ scores and JOA scores for all patients before surgery and at 2 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after surgery.ResultsThe average total JOA score and the recovery rate improved significantly after surgery in both groups, with a slightly better recovery rate in the OPLL group. Cervical spine function improved significantly in the CSM group but not in the OPLL group. Upper- and lower-extremity functions were more stable in the CSM group than in the OPLL group. The effectiveness rate of the JOACMEQ for measuring quality of life was quite low in both groups. In both groups, the Spearman contingency coefficients were dispersed widely except for upper- and lower-extremity function.ConclusionsScores for upper- and lower-extremity function on the JOACMEQ correlated well with JOA scores. Because the JOACMEQ can also assess cervical spine function and quality of life, factors that cannot be assessed by the JOA score alone, the JOACMEQ is a more comprehensive evaluation tool.

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