A STUDY ON NEW PATTERNS OF CERVICAL DEGENERATIVE DISEASE AT A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN WESTERN REGION OF SAUDI ARABIA

Introduction: Degenerative cervical spine disorders are referred to one or more of the following process: decrease in signal intensity of disc, posterior disc protrusion, anterior compression of spinal cord and dura, disc space narrowing, foraminal stenosis or osteophytosis. They are asymptomatic in most of the cases. However, the symptoms may vary between different populations. The aim of this study is to find out the pattern of degenerative cervical spine disease at King Abdulaziz university hospital. Material and Method: This was a Retrospective study From January 2005 to December 2010, the medical files of the patients were reviewed for demographic data (age and gender), clinical presentation, duration of symptoms, physical examination and progression of disease, radiological examinations with evidence of degenerative cervical. The results were presented in mean +/- standard deviation; the correlation between variables was calculated by using Spearman's formula for the nonparametric values. Results: A total of 120 cases were reviewed. 63 (52.5%) were females and 57 (47.5%) were males. The mean age was 55.2 +/- 12.8 years. The most common degenerative cervical spine changes were found at C 5-6 levels. The younger patients tended to have higher cervical spine level involvement P=0.0. The mean duration of symptoms was 41months. The younger patients tended to present more with the weakness and numbness p=0.002, p=0.005, respectively. 35 (29.1%) of patients found to have lost reflexes and 17 (14.1%) had exaggerated reflexes. Conclusion: Younger age group presents with more numbness, weakness and higher level in the cervical spine involvement. May be the new life style with more use of handheld devices and bad flexion posture of the neck plays a role in this aspect Further biomechamical studies need to be conducted to explore the effect of head posture on the cervical spine. The mean duration of symptoms prior to presentation was 41 months seems to be long, an education campaign need to be conducted to the community about the degenerative cervical disease risk factors, prevention and early recognition.