Table 2.

Comparison of clinical characteristics between suspected and MRI-proven CES patients.

Variable	Characteristic	Overall, N = 256	Suspected CES, N = 229	MRI-proven CES, N = 27	P-value
Severe or progressive bilateral neurological deficit	Present	128 (50)	103 (44.98)	25 (19.5)	<0.001
Difficulty initiating micturition or impaired sensation of urinary flow	Present	45 (17.58)	42 (18.34)	3 (11.11)	0.505
Loss of sensation of rectal fullness	Present	8 (3.12)	5 (2.18)	3 (11.11)	0.05
Urinary or faecal incontinence	Present	90 (35.16)	78 (34.06)	12 (44.44)	0.392
Bilateral sciatica	Present	56 (21.88)	54 (23.58)	8 (29.63)	0.648
Neurological symptoms in the lower limbs	Present	64 (25.00)	169 (73.80)	23 (85.19)	0.29
Anaesthesia or any leg weakness	Present	62 (24.22)	173 (75.55)	21 (77.78)	0.985
Was B/L sciatica the predominant symptom	Present	56 (21.88)	48 (20.96)	8 (29.63)	0.433
Timeline of the symptoms (i.e. acute/chronic)	Acute	56 (21.88)	108 (47.16)	13 (48.15)	0.887
	Chronic	121 (47.27)	119 (51.97)	14 (51.85)
	No	133 (51.95)	2 (0.87)	0 (0.00)
Was this the first episode of symptoms or have they had it before	Before	2 (0.78)	111 (48.47)	14 (51.85)	0.898
	First	125 (48.83)	117 (51.09)	13 (48.15)
	No	130 (50.78)	1 (0.44)	0 (0.00)
Change in severity of symptom	present	151 (58.98)	91 (39.74)	14 (51.85)	0.316
Time point for change in severity of symptom	NA	149 (58.20)	135 (58.95)	14 (51.85)	0.675
	Since <1 week	32 (12.50)	28 (12.23)	4 (14.81)
	Since 1–3 weeks	55 (21.48)	47 (20.52)	8 (29.63)
	Since 1 month	12 (4.69)	12 (5.24)	0 (0.00)
	Since 2–3 months	6 (2.34)	5 (2.18)	1 (3.70)
	Since 6 months	2 (0.78)	2 (0.87)	0 (0.00)
Investigation in past for same symptoms	Present	102 (39.84)	91 (39.74)	11 (40.74)	>0.999
Did the symptoms start with the back	Present	201 (78.52)	182 (79.48)	19 (70.37)	0.4
Radicular leg pain	Present	136 (53.12)	120 (52.40)	16 (59.26)	0.637
Neurological symptoms	Present	205 (80.08)	181 (79.04)	24 (88.89)	0.338