Self-report and subjective history in the diagnosis of painful neck conditions: A systematic review of diagnostic accuracy studies.

UNLABELLED

Rising healthcare costs and inherent risks with over-utilizing diagnostic imaging require a quality subjective examination to improve effectiveness and time management of physical examinations. This systematic review investigates the diagnostic accuracy of subjective history and self-report items to determine if there is significant alteration in the probability of identifying specific painful neck conditions. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

1. Written in the English language 2) Cervical pain with/without referred upper extremity or head pain 3) Subjective history or self-report items 4) Study designs that reported diagnostic statistics or allowed calculation of sensitivities, specificities, diagnostic odds ratios, and likelihood ratios 5) used a reference standard that has a sensitivity or specificity ≥75% or a diagnostic tool that is strongly supported in the literature where this data is not available. Quality Assessment of Studies of Diagnostic Accuracy II was performed to evaluate risk of bias. Five studies with 830 total patients met the inclusion criteria. Conditions commonly reported in the literature included: cervical radiculopathy, cervical myelopathy, degenerative joint disease, and cervicogenic headache. Individual history questions show minimal diagnostic value in identifying cervical conditions without the physical examination. The value of the subjective history report is important and requires further investigation for specific neck conditions. Clustering symptoms may provide more insight than individual history items in future studies. The diagnostic value of history for neck conditions may be underrepresented due to the lack of studies that isolate subjective examination from the physical examination.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

3a.