Comparison of Korean questionnaires for lumbar spinal stenosis: a prospective study.

Abstract

A prospective study. To determine the results of two lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) questionnaires examined for validity in Korean by comparing them with quality of life scores. Although both LSS questionnaires have been investigated, comparative studies involving both are scarce. Patients with LSS completed the Korean version of the Fukushima Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Scale (K-FLS), the Korean version of the Zurich Claudication Questionnaire (K-ZCQ), the Korean version of the Oswestry Disability Index (K-ODI), and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for back and leg pain. To validate K-FLS and K-ZCQ, we evaluated their correlation with K-ODI and VAS using Spearman's rank correlation analysis. Of 140 patients enrolled, 123 completed the reliability assessment (test-retest). Both questionnaires demonstrated significant correlations with K-ODI and VAS. However, K-FLS exhibited stronger correlations with K-ODI and VAS than with K-ZCQ. In the responsiveness analysis (n=27), K-FLS demonstrated a larger effect size than any subscale of K-ZCQ. K-FLS showed superiority in correlation with K-ODI and VAS and had higher responsiveness than K-ZCQ in LSS.