Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25223421›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging2015

The value of (18)F-fluoride PET/CT in the assessment of screw loosening in patients after intervertebral fusion stabilization.

Tanja Seifen, Margarida Rodrigues, Lukas Rettenbacher, Wolfgang Piotrowski, Johannes Holzmannhofer, Mark Mc Coy, Christian Pirich

Abstract readEvaluation Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 36% 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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Can bone SPECT/CT and 18 F-NaF PET/CT diagnose the cause of persistent pain due to motion sparing devices: a case series.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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  2. Review
  3. The Use ofDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024
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  4. Article
  5. Review
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

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Tanja SeifenDepartment of Nuclear Medicine and Endocrinology, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Müllner Hauptstrasse 48, A-5020, Salzburg, Austria.
Margarida Rodrigues
Lukas Rettenbacher
Wolfgang Piotrowski
Johannes Holzmannhofer
Mark Mc Coy
Christian Pirich
Paracelsus Medical University · AT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeWe evaluated (18)F-fluoride PET/CT for the diagnosis of screw loosening after intervertebral fusion stabilization and compared the results with those from functional radiography.

methodsA group of 59 patients with pain in the region of previous intervertebral fusion stabilization and suspicion of implant instability due to screw loosening were investigated with (18)F-fluoride PET/CT and functional radiography, 30.1 ± 3.4 and 29.3 ± 3.2 months, respectively, after surgery. The criterion for loosening was increased focal uptake surrounding the screw entry point and shaft. SUVmax and SUVmean were measured in a region of interest (ROI) drawn around each screw (334 screws analysed). The final diagnosis was established by surgical exploration in 27 patients and clinical follow-up after intervertebral fusion stabilization in 32 patients.

resultsOf the 59 patients, 20 were proven positive for implant failure due to screw loosening and 39 were confirmed negative. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of (18)F-fluoride PET/CT were 75%, 97.4% and 89.8% in the patient-based analysis, and 45.6%, 100% and 80% in the screw-based analysis, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 93.8% and 100 % in the patient-based analysis, and 88.4 and 76% in the screw-based analysis, respectively. CT signs in PET/CT allowed screw breakage to be detected in three patients. SUVmax, SUVmean and SUVmax/SUVmean ratios in screw ROIs and respective values in reference regions were all found to be significantly different between screws positive for loosening (58 screws) and screws negative for loosening (276 screws). The ratio between SUVmax in screw ROIs and the values in reference regions was the most significant parameter for distinguishing screws positive and screws negative for loosening.

conclusion(18)F-Fluoride PET/CT imaging is useful for the diagnosis of screw loosening in patients with persistent symptoms after intervertebral fusion stabilization.

Indexed as

Multimodal ImagingPositron-Emission TomographyProsthesis FailureTomography, X-Ray ComputedAdultAgedBone ScrewsFemaleFluorine RadioisotopesHumansLumbar VertebraeMaleMiddle AgedRadiopharmaceuticalsSpinal FusionFluorine RadioisotopesRadiopharmaceuticals

Identifiers

PMID25223421
OpenAlexW1980461879

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.