Abstract

Modified Omar Sign for the Clinical Diagnosis of Unilateral Foraminal Stenosis Associated with Disc Prolapse

Omar Abdelhay Eldanasory*

Objective and study design: A retrospective study analyses the validity of the Modified Omar's test for the clinical diagnosis of unilateral lumbar foraminal stenosis associated with disc prolapse.

Methods: This study analyses 250 patients with unilateral sciatic pain, between 2011 and 2020. All the data was obtained from the database collected from our institution and our private clinics. All patients had a standardized neurological assessment with applying the modified Omar test during their examination, then comparing the clinical findings with the MRI imaging. The postoperative clinical finding’s looking for absence of modified omar sign were also compared to the preoperative one.

Results: The modified Omar test was applied during the physical examination. The test was positive for all selected patients with positive unilateral lumbar disc prolapse with foraminal stenosis in MRI finding at the same side of the sign. Comparing the clinical finding preoperative and after surgical intervention or after nerve root block the test was negative which is a sure sign for availability of the test.

Conclusion: The modified Omar test is a clinical test applied during the neurological examination for diagnosis of lumbar foraminal stenosis. The correlation between clinical and radiological findings confirms the test availability with absence of Omar sign after surgical intervention, and after nerve root block. The test is sensitive and more reliable diagnostic tool for the clinical diagnosis of foraminal stenosis and for the clinical follow-up after surgical intervention.

Published Date: 2022-09-08; Received Date: 2022-08-02