An independent validation of a clinical prediction rule for the diagnosis of cervical radiculopathy with radicular pain
Abstract
BACKGROUND: A clinical prediction rule (CPR) for cervical radiculopathy (CR), published in 2003, is widely used in practice and recommended in clinical practice guidelines. To date, this CPR has not been independently validated. OBJECTIVE: To perform an independent broad validation of the 2003 CPR using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as reference standard, and to investigate whether an alternative test cluster has stronger diagnostic utility for identifying CR with radicular pain. METHODS: This prospective diagnostic accuracy study was conducted following the updated STARD 2015 guidelines. Eighty-five individuals (27 with CR) were included from 109 consecutive patients. The diagnosis of CR was based on cervical spine MRI findings consistent with the patient's clinical features, symptoms, and neurological examination, interpreted by a neurosurgeon. Twelve clinical tests were performed by the same examiner blinded to diagnosis. RESULTS: Validation of the 2003 CPR (cervical distraction, Spurling's test, upper limb neurodynamic test (ULNT) 1, and cervical rotation <60°) produced diagnostic values comparable to the original study. Our independent cluster based on backwards stepwise regression identified three variables: (1) modified (passive) shoulder abduction test, (2) Spurling's arm pain test, and (3) ≥2 of 4 ULNTs positive. With this new cluster, having all three tests positive provided an infinite LR+ and a 100% post-test probability, identifying 37.0% of CR with radicular pain cases compared to 17.9% in the original 2003 cluster (4/4 positive tests). CONCLUSION: This study findings corroborate the original 2003 CPR and identified a new cluster that had stronger diagnostic utility for CR with radicular pain.
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BibTeX
@article{grondin2026independent,
title = {{An independent validation of a clinical prediction rule for the diagnosis of cervical radiculopathy with radicular pain}},
author = {Francis Grondin and Chad Cook and Toby Hall and Olivier Maillard and Yannick Perdrix and Sebastien Freppel},
journal = {Revista Brasileira de Fisioterapia / Brazilian journal of physical therapy},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.bjpt.2026.101581},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05844914v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - An independent validation of a clinical prediction rule for the diagnosis of cervical radiculopathy with radicular pain
AU - Francis Grondin
AU - Chad Cook
AU - Toby Hall
AU - Olivier Maillard
AU - Yannick Perdrix
AU - Sebastien Freppel
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Revista Brasileira de Fisioterapia / Brazilian journal of physical therapy
DO - 10.1016/j.bjpt.2026.101581
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05844914v1
AB - BACKGROUND: A clinical prediction rule (CPR) for cervical radiculopathy (CR), published in 2003, is widely used in practice and recommended in clinical practice guidelines. To date, this CPR has not been independently validated. OBJECTIVE: To perform an independent broad validation of the 2003 CPR using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as reference standard, and to investigate whether an alternative test cluster has stronger diagnostic utility for identifying CR with radicular pain. METHODS: This prospective diagnostic accuracy study was conducted following the updated STARD 2015 guidelines. Eighty-five individuals (27 with CR) were included from 109 consecutive patients. The diagnosis of CR was based on cervical spine MRI findings consistent with the patient's clinical features, symptoms, and neurological examination, interpreted by a neurosurgeon. Twelve clinical tests were performed by the same examiner blinded to diagnosis. RESULTS: Validation of the 2003 CPR (cervical distraction, Spurling's test, upper limb neurodynamic test (ULNT) 1, and cervical rotation <60°) produced diagnostic values comparable to the original study. Our independent cluster based on backwards stepwise regression identified three variables: (1) modified (passive) shoulder abduction test, (2) Spurling's arm pain test, and (3) ≥2 of 4 ULNTs positive. With this new cluster, having all three tests positive provided an infinite LR+ and a 100% post-test probability, identifying 37.0% of CR with radicular pain cases compared to 17.9% in the original 2003 cluster (4/4 positive tests). CONCLUSION: This study findings corroborate the original 2003 CPR and identified a new cluster that had stronger diagnostic utility for CR with radicular pain.
SN - 1413-3555
ER -