Assessment of quality of life and psychologic status in chronic-phase patients with cervical spinal cord injury: Correlation with clinical symptoms and evaluation tools.

Context: This cross-sectional study examined the correlation and adequacy of the Japanese Orthopaedics Association Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire (JOACMEQ) for assessing patients with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Single hospital.

Participants: 38 patients in the chronic phase after cervical SCI (32 men, mean age 67.0 years).

Outcome measures: Outcome measures included the association between JOACMEQ scores and bodily symptoms such as neck pain, neuropathic pain in the upper or lower extremities, and chest discomfort; visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for cervical, chest, upper, and lower extremity pain; and the Cronbach's alpha internal consistency of responses between the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey, EuroQOL 5 Dimension, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the JOACMEQ.

Results: Pain or numbness was reported by 94.7% of patients. Among the 38 patients, 7 (18.4%) had a confirmed diagnosis of depression and 3 (7.9%) had a confirmed diagnosis of anxiety. JOACMEQ domain scores correlated with bodily symptoms, and SF-36 and HADS scores. Cronbach's alpha of the JOACMEQ in patients with SCI was ∼0.8 across all domains except bladder function.

Conclusion: JOACMEQ scores significantly correlated with bodily symptoms and established QOL and mental health measures. Furthermore, the JOACMEQ showed good internal consistency in this study. Compared with conventional assessment methods, the JOACMEQ is a simpler instrument for assessing quality of life, including psychologic status, in patients with cervical SCI.