The effect of time elapsed from the onset of symptoms to surgery on prognosis in patients with foot drop due to lumbar disc Hernia

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the duration from foot drop development to nerve decompression on the rate and degree of recovery in foot drop clinic. Material and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 30 consecutive patients who had undergone microdiscectomy for foot drop clinic (ankle dorsiflexion 0/5 paresis) between April 2014 and February 2019. Patients were divided into three groups according to the time from foot drop development to surgery, as <72 hours, 72 hours to 1 week, and >1 week. Kruskal-Wallis and Bonferroni corrected Mann Whitney U test were used to evaluate the rate and degree of recovery of ankle dorsiflexion muscle strength between groups. Results: In this study, 30 patients (18 females and 12 males) who underwent surgery for foot drop were evaluated. Mean age at the time of surgery was 46.5±13.5 (range, 18-72) years. Postoperative ankle dorsiflexion strength was 4.2±1.6 (range, 0-5) in <72 hours group, 1.7±1.6 (range, 0-5) in 72 hours-1 week group and 1.0±1.3 (range, 0-3) in >1 week group. Postoperative muscle strength improvement level of <72 hours group was significantly different both from 72 hours-1 week group (p=0.003) and from >1 week group (p=0.002). There was no statistically significant difference between 72 hours-1 week group and >1 week group (p=0.427). Conclusion: In foot drop clinic, the duration from onset of symptoms to surgical decompression was a statistically significant predictor of postoperative recovery rates. © 2019, Duzce University Medical School. All rights reserved.