Bmc Musculoskel Dis
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Bmc Musculoskel Dis · Jan 2007
Multicenter StudyA diagnostic support tool for lumbar spinal stenosis: a self-administered, self-reported history questionnaire.
There is no validated gold-standard diagnostic support tool for LSS, and therefore an accurate diagnosis depends on clinical assessment. Assessment of the diagnostic value of the history of the patient requires an evaluation of the differences and overlap of symptoms of the radicular and cauda equina types; however, no tool is available for evaluation of the LSS category. We attempted to develop a self-administered, self-reported history questionnaire as a diagnostic support tool for LSS using a clinical epidemiological approach. The aim of the present study was to use this tool to assess the diagnostic value of the history of the patient for categorization of LSS. ⋯ A new self-administered, self-reported history questionnaire was developed successfully as a diagnostic support tool for LSS.