Macnab criteria
The MacNab scale scores were used as indicators of success in terms of pain relief. The scores were divided into the following four grades: 75–100% (excellent), 50–74% (good), 25–49% (fair) and 0–24% (poor). The “excellent” and “good” results were accepted as favorable outcomes, and the “fair” and “poor” results were considered unsatisfactory 1).
Spinal instability
Excellent
No pain; no restriction of activity
Good
Occasional pain of sufficient severity to interfere with the patient's ability to do his normal work or his capacity to enjoy himself in leisure hours
Fair
Improved functional capacity, but handicapped by intermittent pain of sufficient severity to curtail or modify work or leisure activities
Poor
No improvement or insufficient improvement to enable increase in activities; further operative intervention required
Name and Synonyms Macnab criteria, MacNab's outcome assessment of patient satisfaction. Source Article Macnab I. “negative disc exploration: an analysis of the cause of nerve root involvement in sixty-eight patients.” J Bone Joint Surg (Am) 1971 ;53:891-903
The patient is asked to rate his level of well-being, generally after surgery. The patient choose one of the four: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor. With the the same wording with the original (source) paper, the explanations of each grade are as follows:
Excellent: No pain; no restriction of activity.
Good: Occasional back or leg pain of sufficient severity to interfere with the patient’s ability to do his normal work or his capacity to enjoy himself in his leisure hours.
Fair: Improved functional capacity, but handicapped by intermittent pain of sufficient severity to curtail or modify work or leisure activities.
Poor: No improvement or insufficient improvement to enable increase in activities; further operative intervention required. Versions