Is it possible to predict the efficacy at discharge of inhospital rheumatology department management of disk-related sciatica?
OBJECTIVES: To identify criteria for predicting the outcome at discharge in patients scheduled for inhospital treatment of disk-related sciatica. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 150 rheumatology department patients admitted for disk-related sciatica with a mean duration of 88 +/- 127 days to determine the impact on treatment outcomes of 50 parameters. RESULTS: After complete bed and 2.2 +/- 1.1 epidural glucocorticoid injections during a mean hospital stay of 9.9 +/- 4.3 days, 80% of patients reported either complete or partial pain relief (19% and 61%, respectively). The remaining 20% reported little (9%) or no (11%) change. Surgery was performed in 13% of cases. A tighter straight-leg raising test angle was correlated with treatment failure (P = 0.01). Complete bed rest duration prior to admission was shorter in the 80% of responders (P = 0.036) than in the 20% of nonresponders; in the overall population, patients spent on average 64% +/- 33% of daytime hours in bed. Patient predict
