FORECAST is a prospective longitudinal cohort study exploring mechanism-based prognostic factors for pain persistence in sciatica. Here, we share an update on this largest deeply-phenotyped primary care sciatica cohort. Our cohort includes 180 people with sciatica (score >4 on Stynes’ Sum Score), aged 18–85, within 3 months of symptom onset. Psychosocial factors, self-reported sensory profiling, clinical examination, quantitative sensory testing (QST), biological samples (blood and skin samples), and Magnetic Resonance Neurography of lumbar nerve roots were collected at baseline. Pain persistence was determined at three and twelve months with the Sciatica Bothersomeness Index (SBI) and a numeric pain rating scale (NRS) as primary outcomes. Recruitment nears completion, with 160 participants enrolled to date. 127 and 96 participants have completed 3 and 12 months follow-up respectively. Overall, 56% of our cohort are female, with a mean age (SD) of 54.14yrs (16.57). Ethnicity data approximates local populations. SBI at baseline was (median [IQR]) 13[10-17], and interim longitudinal data shows stepwise improvement at 3 and 12 months. Baseline ‘average’ pain intensity was 5.56 (2.15) for leg pain, and 4.14(2.82) for low back pain (LBP). Overall, pain scores decreased at 3 and 12 months, with greater reductions in leg pain than LBP at 12 months. However, around 55–80% and 40–65% of people reported persistent pain at 3 and 12 months respectively.Background
Methods/results
Laterality and bilaterality have been reported as prognostic variables in DDH outcomes. However, there is little clarity across the literature on the reporting of laterality in developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) due to the variability in severity of the condition. It is widely accepted that the left hip is most frequently affected; however, the true incidence of unilateral left, unilateral right and bilateral cases can be hard to quantify and compare across studies. The purpose of this study was to examine laterality accounting for graded severity in a multicentre, international prospective observational study of infants with hip dysplasia in order to demonstrate the complexity of this issue. A multicentre, prospective database of infants diagnosed with DDH between the ages of 0 and 18 months was analysed from 2010 to April 2015. Patients less than six months were enrolled in the study if at least one hip was frankly dislocated. Patients between 6 and 18 months were enrolled if they had any form of hip dysplasia. Each hip was classified as reduced, dysplastic, dislocatable/subluxable, dislocated reducible or dislocated irreducible. Baseline diagnosis was used to classify patients into a graded laterality category accounting for hip status within the DDH spectrum. A total of 496 patients were included in the analysis; 328 were <6 months old at diagnosis and 168 were between 6 and 18 months old. Of these patients, 421 had at least one frankly dislocated hip. Unilateral left hip dislocations were most common, with 223 patients, followed by unilateral right and bilateral dislocations with 106 and 92 respectively. Stratifying these patients based on status of the contralateral hip, 54 unilateral left and 31 unilateral right dislocated patients also had a dysplastic or unstable contralateral hip. There were significantly fewer bilateral patients in the 6–18 month group (p=0.0005). When classifying laterality by affected hip, bilaterality became the predominant finding, comprising 42% of all patients. The distribution of unilateral left, unilateral right and bilateral cases was greatly impacted by the method of classification. Distinct patterns were seen when considering dislocated hips only, or when considering both dislocated and dysplastic/unstable hips. Findings from this multicentre prospective study demonstrate the necessity to account for the graded severity in hip status when reporting DDH laterality. In order to accurately compare laterality across studies, a standardised, comprehensive classification should be established, as contralateral hip status may impact prognosis and treatment outcomes.
