Survival score scales of patients operated with spinal metastases: retrospective application in a Brazilian population

Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2016 Jan;74(1):44-9. doi: 10.1590/0004-282X20150189. Epub 2015 Nov 24.

Abstract

Spinal cord epidural metastasis (SEM) is a common complication of systemic cancer. Predicting these patient's survival is a key factor to select the proper treatment modality, but the three most used score scales to predict their survival (Tokuhashi revised score, Tomita score and Bauer modified score) were designed in single institutions and their reliability to predict correctly the patient's survival were first tested only in those specific populations. This prognostication issue is addressed in this article, evaluating retrospectively the survival of 17 patients with SEM from a Brazilian general hospital with these score scales. Our results show that the actual survival of those patients were worse than the predicted of all three score scales, suggesting that differences between the different populations might have affected their reliability and alert that their usage as a major factor to select the most appropriate treatment have to be done with caution.

MeSH terms

  • Abbreviated Injury Scale
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • Clinical Decision-Making
  • Epidural Neoplasms / complications
  • Epidural Neoplasms / mortality*
  • Epidural Neoplasms / secondary*
  • Epidural Neoplasms / surgery
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Life Expectancy*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Prognosis
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Severity of Illness Index*
  • Spinal Cord Compression / etiology
  • Spinal Cord Compression / surgery*
  • Survival Rate
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Treatment Outcome