Grading of MRI and STarT Back Screening Tool (SBST) in the diagnosis of severity of lumbar central canal stenosis: a sensitivity analysis

Purpose: This study aimed to correlation between the grading stenosis and the STarT Back Screening Tool (SBST) in patients diagnosed with lumbar central canal stenosis (LCCS). Methods: In a prospective clinical study, a total of 269 patients with LCCS were asked to respond to the questionnaire at their first visits. Grading of LCCS on MRI was determined and also the severities of the disease were observed based on SBST as the gold standard. Finally grading on MRI and calcification of the SBST were determined, and sensitivity analysis carried out to evaluate severity of LCCS on grading of MRI using the SBST. Results: The mean age of patients was 58.6 (SD= 10.9) years; and 56.5% were female. According to patients’ imaging they have been diagnosed as grade 1 (n = 86), grade 2 (n = 107) and grade 3 (n = 76). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the estimated grading of LCCS on MRI for low, medium, and high risk groups were found to be desirable: 97.6%, 66.7%, 96.5% for low risk; 93.1%, 83.3%, 92.5% for medium risk, and 97.2%, 66.7%, 94.7% for high risk, respectively. Conclusion:Our findings indicate that grading of LCCS on MRI correlate with SBST and suggest that it is a reliable measure for screening LCCS patients.