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Wajid Jawaid, Sundus Mehtab Shafee, Jay Singh, Muhammad Irfan, Hafsa Sheikh and Qamar un Nisa

ABSTRACT

Objective: To determine the etiological spectrum and clinical profile of non-compressive myelopathies in patients presenting at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan.

Study Design: Cross-sectional retrospective study

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Department of Neurology, Dr Ruth K.M Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, recording data of patients with non-compressive myelopathies from January 2018 to December 2021.

Materials and Methods: Demographic variables, clinical comorbid conditions, initial presentation, clinical progression, in-hospital management, imaging & laboratory analysis, and response to therapy were recorded from department’s records. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. Chi-square test with 95% confidence interval was used to compare categorical data. Paired T-test was applied to compare the difference in continuous variables.

Results: Seventy-one patients met the inclusion criteria. Acute to subacute progression of disease was the most common pattern (88.7%), with 45% of patients showing involvement of the thoracic portion of the spinal cord. The most common etiology for non-compressive myelopathy in our study was multiple sclerosis (28.2%). A good response to the treatment regime was reported in more than half of the study population (62%). A significant association was found between time to hospital arrival and disagree of disability.

Conclusion: Multiple sclerosis was the most common etiology of non-compressive myelopathies in this study. The majority of patients were noted to have an acute to subacute onset of disease, involvement of the dorsal region of the spinal cord, and paraparesis.

Key Words: Multiple sclerosis, Non-compressive myelopathy, Paraparesis, Spinal cord disorders.

Citation of article: Jawaid W, Shafee SM, Singh J, Irfan M, Sheikh H, Nisa QU. Clinical and Etiological Profile of Non-compressive Myelopathies: Experience from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Pakistan Med Forum 2023;34(5):15-19.