OBJECTIVE: to correlate discography findings with patients symptoms and imaging studies. METHODS: thirty three discograms of 20 patients with chronic low back pain were prospectively evaluated comparing discography findings with clinical data (symptoms, VAS, Oswestry score) and imaging studies (MRI). RESULTS: fourteen discograms were considered positive and 19 negative. The mean age for positive exams was 40.7 years, and on the negative, 43.1 years. Patients with back and leg pain had positive discograms on 87.5% of the cases, while patients with back pain, 50% (p=0.008). Discograms were positive in 88.9% of the patients that had had more than four acute episodes of pain, in comparison of 50% of those without acute episodes (p=0.004). VAS and Oswestry score did not differ between groups; 80% of the patients who had HIZ on their MRI had positive discogram (p=0.045), and 75% of those with Modic9 changes (p=0.083). Patients with a high resistance endpoint had few positive exams (31.58%, p=0.0143). CONCLUSION: patients with back and leg pain, with acute episodes, and HIZ on the MRI had a higher rate of positive discograms.
Low back pain; Low back pain; Intervertebral disc; Magnetic resonance imaging
