Development , validation , and incorporation of a small number of disease-specific patient-based instruments will improve the quality of research and care of CM-I patients
OBJECT Chiari malformation Type I ( CM-I ) is a common and often debilitating neurological disease .
Efforts to improve treatment of CM-I are impeded by inconsistent and limited methods of evaluating clinical outcomes .
Pain improvement in patients with syringomyelia and Chiari I malformation treated with suboccipital decompression and tonsillar coagulation
Pain experienced by patients who have syringomyelia associated with Chiari I malformation ( SACM ) includes headache , cervicalgia and radiculalgia . We studied the correlation of clinical and imaging factors with the evolution of pain and surgical outcome at 12 months . We performed a prospect i ve study of 13 patients who presented with SACM and who underwent suboccipital decompression , C1 laminectomy , tonsillar coagulation and duraplasty .  The Bidzinski Outcome Scale was used . Post-operatively , pain improvement was observed in 11 patients and the syrinx resolved in 6 patients and reduced in 7 . Eleven patients had a good or very good outcome , while 2 patients had a poor outcome . A post-operative medullary axial occupation of the syrinx less than 75 % of the spinal canal was associated with improved post-operative pain . Longer duration of symptomatology was associated with a poor outcome and failed pain control . The size and form of the syrinx , as well as early surgical treatment , are the factors that most influence the control of pain post-surgery in patients with SACM
Development , validation , and incorporation of a small number of disease-specific patient-based instruments will improve the quality of research and care of CM-I patients
OBJECT Chiari malformation Type I ( CM-I ) is a common and often debilitating neurological disease .
Efforts to improve treatment of CM-I are impeded by inconsistent and limited methods of evaluating clinical outcomes .