Evidence mapPaperPMID 41618409Full record

ArticleJournal of orthopaedic surgery and research2026

Interspinous process fixation versus posterior lumbar interbody fusion following decompression for single-level grade I degenerative spondylolisthesis: a retrospective propensity score-matched study.

Jingbo Ma, Tusheng Li, Nan Shen, Rigbat Rozi, Yu Ding

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

5 authors.

Jingbo Ma *Orthopedics of TCM Senior Department, The Sixth Medical Center of People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, 100048, China.
Tusheng Li *Orthopedics of TCM Senior Department, The Sixth Medical Center of People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, 100048, China.
Nan ShenOrthopedics of TCM Senior Department, The Sixth Medical Center of People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, 100048, China.
Rigbat RoziOrthopedics of TCM Senior Department, The Sixth Medical Center of People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, 100048, China.
Yu DingOrthopedics of TCM Senior Department, The Sixth Medical Center of People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, 100048, China. dingyu@301hospital.com.cn.

Funding

Research on Integrative Chinese and Western Medicine Strategies Emphasizing Musculoskeletal Treatment for the Rehabilitation and Health Preservation of Spine-Origin Low Back and Leg Pain 24BJZ07
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo compare clinical outcomes and radiographic parameters between interspinous process fixation (ISPF) and posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) in patients with single-level degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) associated with Meyerding Grade I spondylolisthesis.

methodsWe retrospectively analyzed 107 patients who underwent ISPF (n = 55) or PLIF (n = 52) between January 2019 and January 2023. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed using covariates including age, sex, BMI, symptom duration, smoking history, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and affected spinal level, resulting in 36 matched pairs. Clinical efficacy was evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, and Macnab criteria. Radiographic assessments included lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), segmental angle (SA), and disc height (DH). All patients completed more than 24 months of follow-up.

resultsPost-matching analysis demonstrated good baseline balance (SMD < 0.20, P > 0.05). ISPF showed superior short-term outcomes, with significantly greater improvement in VAS scores both immediately postoperatively (2.52 ± 1.39 vs. 3.21 ± 1.23, P = 0.0078) and at the 3-month follow-up (1.83 ± 1.31 vs. 2.54 ± 1.20, P = 0.0042). Similarly, ODI favored ISPF at the immediate postoperative evaluation (38.64 ± 8.86 vs. 42.17 ± 6.77, P = 0.0221) and at 3 months (25.61 ± 8.84 vs. 30.15 ± 6.75, P = 0.0035), whereas no significant between-group differences were observed at 1 year and at the final follow-up (both P > 0.05). Radiographically, ISPF achieved superior LL (45.13° ± 4.97 vs. 40.37° ± 7.37, P = 0.0002) and lower PT (12.49° ± 7.62 vs. 15.80° ± 8.26, P = 0.0334), whereas PLIF demonstrated greater correction of the slip angle (SA: 10.99° ± 2.53 vs. 12.52° ± 1.48, P = 0.0004). Long-term clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction rates were comparable (Macnab excellent-to-good: 86.11% ISPF vs. 83.33% PLIF, P = 0.9420).

conclusionsISPF provided better short-term clinical recovery and maintenance of sagittal alignment, whereas PLIF offered greater slip correction. Both procedures yielded comparable long-term clinical outcomes, supporting individualized surgical decision-making in patients with degenerative LSS and Grade I spondylolisthesis.

Indexed as

Decompression, SurgicalLumbar VertebraePropensity ScoreSpinal FusionSpinal StenosisSpondylolisthesisAgedFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeDegenerative lumbar spondylolisthesisInterspinous process fixationLumbar spinal stenosisPosterior lumbar interbody fusionPropensity score matching

Identifiers

PMID41618409
PMCPMC12931059

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

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.