Comparison of Korean questionnaires for lumbar spinal stenosis: a prospective study.

STUDY

DESIGN

A prospective study.

PURPOSE: To determine the results of two lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) questionnaires examined for validity in Korean by comparing them with quality of life scores.

OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Although both LSS questionnaires have been investigated, comparative studies involving both are scarce.

METHODS

Patients with LSS completed the Korean version of the Fukushima Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Scale (K-FLS), the Korean version of the Zurich Claudication Questionnaire (K-ZCQ), the Korean version of the Oswestry Disability Index (K-ODI), and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for back and leg pain. To validate K-FLS and K-ZCQ, we evaluated their correlation with K-ODI and VAS using Spearman's rank correlation analysis.

RESULTS

Of 140 patients enrolled, 123 completed the reliability assessment (test-retest). Both questionnaires demonstrated significant correlations with K-ODI and VAS. However, K-FLS exhibited stronger correlations with K-ODI and VAS than with K-ZCQ. In the responsiveness analysis (n=27), K-FLS demonstrated a larger effect size than any subscale of K-ZCQ.

CONCLUSIONS

K-FLS showed superiority in correlation with K-ODI and VAS and had higher responsiveness than K-ZCQ in LSS.