Spine Examination during COVID-19 Pandemic via Video Consultation

During the current COVID-19 pandemic video consultations are increasingly common in order to minimize the risk of infection for staff and patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a spine examination via video.

A total of 43 patients were recruited. Each participant underwent a video-based (VB) and a conventional face-to-face (FTF) spine examination. Pain intensity, active range of motion, inspection, a neurophysiologic basic exam and provocations tests were evaluated using video-based and face-to-face methods.

The intra-rater reliability (IRR) was measured between both examinations. Good to very good IRR values were obtained in inspection (Kappa between 0,752 und 0,944), active range of motion and basic neurophysiological examination (Kappa between 0,659 und 0,969). Only moderate matches were found in specific provocation tests (Kappa between 0,407 und 0,938). A video-based spine examination is a reliable tool for measuring pain intensity, active range of motion and a basic neurophysiologic exam.

A basic spine examination during a video consultation is possible. A good agreement of the test results between video-based and face-to-face examination could be found.