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. 2023 Nov 2;14(4):1395–1421. doi: 10.1177/21925682231210468

Table 1.

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria.

Characteristic Inclusion Exclusion
Population - Patients with cervical myelopathy secondary to spondylosis, disc herniation, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, congenital stenosis or subluxation.
- Managed conservatively or surgically.
- Age >18 years
- Patient with traumatic spinal cord injury, thoracic or lumbar myelopathy, tumor or infection.
Symptoms - Numb hands
Clumsy hands
- Arm paresthesia
- Neck pain
- Shoulder or arm pain
- Weakness
- Gait disturbances
- Bladder or bowel dysfunction
- Clinical signs on physical examination
- Patient reported outcome measures (eg neck disability index, SF-36, VAS, subjective questionnaires)
- Clinician reported outcome measures (eg mJOA, Nurick, walking test, grip dynamometer, GRASSP, GaitRite)
- Imaging characteristics
Outcome KQ1: Sensitivity, specificity, positive or negative predictive, positive or negative likelihood ratio
KQ2: Frequency, percentages
- Reliability
- Responsiveness to change
- Internal consistency
Study design KQ1: Case-control or cohort studies. Acceptable control group for comparison (eg individuals with cervical radiculopathy or axial neck pain with no myelopathic symptoms)
KQ2: Clinical trial or cohort studies that reported the frequency of symptoms in the studied population
- Commentaries or opinions
- Systematic or narrative reviews
- Animal or biomechanical studies
- Studies with <15 patients
- Studies without an acceptable control group