Table 1 PICO analysis of included studies
Author (year) | Patients description | Index test | Comparison | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Hasankhani & Omidi-Kashani 2013 [17] | 152 patients | MRI | CNE & eclectro-diagnostics | MRI showed a high + likelihood ratio for nerve root involvement indicating that it is a better modality to confirm radiculopathy. |
15 years and older | ||||
Radicular low back pain | ||||
Eguchi (2011) [16] | 18 years and older | Diffusion-Weighted Imaging (DWI) | Routine MRI | Mean ADC values were significantly greater in the compressed DRG and distal spinal nerves than in intact nerves. |
10 patients with | ||||
Mono-radicular symptoms | ||||
Bertilson (2010) [1] | 18 and older | MRI | CNE and simplified pain drawing | Structured physical examination (including CNE), and pain drawing showed more sensitivity than MRI for nerve involvement. |
61 patients with long-standing nerve root symptoms | ||||
Thornbury et al. (1993) | 18 and older | MRI | Plain CT and CT myelography | No statistically significant difference in the diagnostic accuracy of MRI, plain CT and CT myelography in the diagnosis of nerve root compression caused by HNP. |
95 patients with acute low back and radicular pain |