New grading system for the clinical evaluation of patients with spinal vascular lesions

Neurointerventional approaches have improved myelopathy in patients with spinal vascular lesions by providing effective management, particularly when surgical approaches are difficult. However, there have been challenges in describing and comparing recovery status during the post-treatment period.

We evaluated 43 patients with venous congestive myelopathy (VCM) using Aminoff-Logue Disability Scale for gait (AL-G) and micturition (AL-M) scores. These results were compared with our new PSMS grading system that evaluates four categories (grades 0-3): pain, sensory symptoms, motor deficit, and sphincter change. Simple linear regression was used to identify the association or trend among the scales. We also calculated an overall area under the receiver operating characteristic curve to compare the predictive ability of the PSMS system with that of the previous grading system (AL-G and AL-M).

Compared with other grading system, the PSMS system was more sensitively correlated with patient status and the results were easy to compare with previous clinical statuses during follow-up. The PSMS system also measured pain, which is commonly associated with spinal dural arteriovenous fistula and not precisely evaluated by other grading system.

The new PSMS grading system for patients with VCM correlated well with the previously used systems and included pain evaluation. This new grading system is an easy tool for the evaluation and comparison of outcomes before and after endovascular treatment.