Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19294478›Full record

ReviewClinical rheumatology2009

Discovertebral (Andersson) lesions of the spine in ankylosing spondylitis revisited.

Johannes L Bron, Mirjam K de Vries, Marieke N Snieders, Irene E van der Horst-Bruinsma, Barend J van Royen

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Clinical rheumatology, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
56citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.6field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
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

56 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 142 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Andersson-like lesion in diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis; a rare diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.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
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Diagnostic imaging confusion in infectious spondylitis.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
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 at 1 institution in 1 country.

Johannes L BronDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands.
Mirjam K de Vries
Marieke N Snieders
Irene E van der Horst-Bruinsma
Barend J van Royen
Amsterdam UMC Location VUmc · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A well-known complication in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is the development of localised vertebral or discovertebral lesions of the spine, which was first described by Andersson in 1937. Since then, many different terms are used in literature to refer to these localised lesions of the spine, including the eponym 'Andersson lesion' (AL). The use of different terms reflects an ongoing debate on the exact aetiology of the AL. In the current study, we performed an extensive review of the literature in order to align communication on aetiology, diagnosis and management between treating physicians. AL may result from inflammation or (stress-) fractures of the complete ankylosed spine. There is no evidence for an infectious origin. Regardless of the exact aetiology, a final common pathway exists, in which mechanical stresses prevent the lesion from fusion and provoke the development of pseudarthrosis. The diagnosis of AL is established on conventional radiography, but computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging both provide additional information. There is no indication for a diagnostic biopsy. Surgical instrumentation and fusion is considered the principle management in symptomatic AL that fails to resolve from a conservative treatment. We advise to use the term Andersson lesion for these spinal lesions in patients with AS.

Indexed as

Spondylitis, AnkylosingHumansInflammationPseudarthrosisRadiographyRadionuclide ImagingSpineWounds and Injuries

Identifiers

PMID19294478
PMCPMC2711912
OpenAlexW2118751598

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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 OpenQuestion graph.