Analysis of the correlation among age, disc morphology, positive discography and prognosis in patients with chronic low back pain

Objective: To investigate the correlation among age, disc morphology, positive discography, and prognosis in patients with chronic low back pain. Methods: A total of 183 intervertebral discs in 72 patients with chronic low back pain were studied. Discography was performed using a pressure-controlled manometric technique. The pain reaction during discography at each level was recorded as follows: no pain, dissimilar pain, similar pain, or concordant pain. Discs with similar or concordant pain were classified as positive. All the examined discs were assessed morphologically using axial computed tomography imaging. The grade of general degeneration and annular disruption of the discs were assessed according to the Dallas discogram description (DDD). Intradiscal injection of steroid was tried for patients with symptomatic disc identified during provocative discography and who did not consent to surgical operation. Results: There was a higher correlation between general degeneration and age, as compared with annular disruption and age. Higher general degeneration and annular disruption grades had higher positive rates of discography. However, annular disruption alone was independently associated with positive discography. Age and grade of general degeneration did not affect the prognosis. Conclusion: The grade of general degeneration was associated with age, but it was not correlated with positive discography and prognosis. In addition, high grade of annular disruption correlated with positive discography.