Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39434231›Full record

ArticleAsian spine journal2024

Hounsfield units and vertebral bone quality score for predicting mechanical complications after adult spinal deformity surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Hiroyuki Nakarai, Gregory S Kazarian, Francis C Lovecchio, Han Jo Kim

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Asian spine journal, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. Utility of the vertebral bone quality (VBQ) score and CT hounsfield unit for bone mineral density assessment in patients with isthmic spondylolisthesis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026
    Article
  6. Osteoporosis prediction using lumbar CT Hounsfield units: comparative performance and clinical implications of seven machine learning models.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Hiroyuki NakaraiDepartment of Spine Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA.
Gregory S KazarianDepartment of Spine Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA.
Francis C LovecchioDepartment of Spine Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA.
Han Jo KimDepartment of Spine Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA.

Funding

ISSGFSI BONE
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to assess existing literature and determine the association between the Hounsfield unit (HU) value and the vertebral body quality (VBQ) score with mechanical complications (MCs) after adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery. Although bone quality is considered an increasingly important factor for MCs after ASD surgery, the utility of the HU value assessed by computed tomography and the VBQ score assessed by magnetic resonance imaging remains unknown. A systematic review of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases was performed to find studies evaluating the association between the HU value and the VBQ score with MCs after ASD surgery. In the subsequent meta-analysis, MC outcomes were combined using a random-effects model, and the standardized mean difference and 95% confidence interval were calculated. The final analysis included a total of 20 studies. Nineteen studies reported HU values, and two studies reported VBQ scores. Proximal junctional kyphosis/failure (PJK/PJF) was reported as the MC in 16 studies, whereas other MCs were included in 6 studies. Six studies with a pool of 506 patients with ASD revealed that preoperative HU values at the upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) and UIV+1 were significantly lower in patients with PJK/PJF (standardized mean difference, -0.74; 95% confidence interval, -1.09 to -0.40). Three studies suggested an cutoff HU value of approximately ≤120, yielding a pooled sensitivity of 0.77, specificity of 0.67, and diagnostic odds ratio of 7.01. However, two studies reported conflicting results on the relationship between the VBQ score and PJK/PJF. Low HU values predicted the risk of certain MCs, particularly PJK/PJF, after ASD surgery. An HU value of <120 should alert surgeons to be cautious about the postoperative occurrence of PJK/PJF. Future studies are needed to validate the cutoff HU value and evaluate the utility of the VBQ score.

Indexed as

Computed tomographyHounsfield unitMagnetic resonance imagingOsteoporosisScoliosis

Identifiers

PMID39434231
PMCPMC11538826

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.