Presence of Cerebrospinal Fluid on Preoperative Imaging and the Associated Cervical Myelopathy Diagnosis and Outcome

Study Design: Retrospective chart review. Objective: The objective of this study is to determine whether the presence of cerebrospinal fluid is associated with the severity of degenerative cervical myelopathy or postoperative outcomes. Summary of Background Data: Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is a clinical diagnosis characterized as neurologic dysfunction. Preoperative imaging is used to determine the source of cord compression. In clinical practice, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) around the cord is often used as an indicator to determine whether stenosis is relevant. It is unclear if the presence of CSF around the cord can serve as a metric for clinically relevant cord compression. Methods: Patients undergoing single-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for cervical spondylotic myelopathy were identified from our institution’s surgical database. Pre- and postoperative patient-reported health outcomes visual analog scale for neck pain (VAS-NP) and modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) were collected. The level of ACDF plus one level above and below were assessed for the presence of cerebrospinal fluid, as well as measuring the area of the spinal canal and spinal cord on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging. Results: Two hundred forty-nine patients were included. Spearman correlation test comparing cord/canal ratios at the level of compression and preoperative mJOA shows a significant negative correlation (Rho = −0.206, P = 0.043). There was no significant correlation with postoperative change in mJOA scores (Rho = −0.002, P = 0.986). Conclusion: The presence of CSF around the cord was weakly correlated with the severity of myelopathy; however, it had no correlation with postoperative outcomes. The presence of CSF around the cord should not in isolation be used to rule in or rule out operative levels in cervical myelopathy.