PARASPINAL ULTRASONOGRAPHY - LACK OF ACCURACY IN EVALUATING PATIENTS WITH CERVICAL OR LUMBAR BACK PAIN

This study evaluates the ability of paraspinal ultrasonography to iden tify abnormal echogenicity in patients with cervical or lumbar back pa in, or both. Paraspinal ultrasonography was performed on 82 subjects, including 23 asymptomatic controls. Echogenicity in the region of nerv e roots and facets was assessed. Readings were correlated with locatio n of patients' symptoms, if any. Receiver operating characteristic ana lysis demonstrated that evaluation of nerve roots by all four readers did not differ significantly from chance (0.07 < P < 0.99). Specificit ies ranged from 0 to 0.68. Kappa values were 0.06 for cervical and -0. 06 for lumbar spine. Ultrasonography was unable to demonstrate abnorma l echogenicity adjacent to facets in symptomatic patients. Paraspinal ultrasonography is neither accurate nor reproducible in evaluating pat ients with cervical and lumbar back pain.