STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective observational study.

OBJECTIVE

To describe a novel outcome indication system, the posterior compression score (PCS), and investigate its clinical value in cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) patients treated with laminoplasty.

METHODS

A total of 282 OPLL patients who underwent laminoplasty from January 2013 to December 2018 were reviewed. The patients were divided into high-score (HS) or low-score (LS) groups based on whether the PCS was over 8. Propensity score matching analysis with a caliper of .1 was used to attenuate the potential selection bias. Clinical measurements, including the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, visual analog scale (VAS), neck disability index (NDI), and radiological measurements, including C2-C7 lordotic angle and range of motion (ROM), were compared between the groups.

RESULTS

The mean follow-up period was 29.87 ± 9.17 months. There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding patients' baseline demographical and clinical characteristics after propensity score matching. No significant differences were found in the operative time, blood loss, postoperative VAS score for neck and arm pain, postoperative C2-C7 lordotic angle, or postoperative ROM ( > .05). However, the postoperative JOA score and recovery rate were significantly higher in the HS group than in the LS group, while the postoperative NDI was significantly lower in the HS group ( < .05).

CONCLUSION

OPLL patients with higher PCS scores displayed better clinical outcomes. The novel PCS system is suggested to be a reliable scoring system for surgical outcome evaluation in patients with cervical OPLL.