SynthesisSkeletal radiology2015
Diagnostic value of the nerve root sedimentation sign, a radiological sign using magnetic resonance imaging, for detecting lumbar spinal stenosis: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Skeletal radiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Use and misuse of the sedimentation sign in lumbar spine stenosis.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 · 2025Pooled it
- [Predictive value of nerve root sedimentation sign in diagnosis of lumbar spinal stenosis].Zhongguo xiu fu chong jian wai ke za zhi = Zhongguo xiufu chongjian waike zazhi = Chinese journal of reparative and reconstructive surgery · 2024Article
- The Essence of Clinical Practice Guidelines for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis, 2021: 2. Diagnosis and Evaluation.Spine surgery and related research · 2023Article
- The Correlation Between Negative Nerve Root Sedimentation Sign and Gravity: A Study of Upright Lumbar Multi-Positional Magnetic Resonance Images.Global spine journal · 2023Article
- The association between clinical symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis and MRI axial imaging findings.Fukushima journal of medical science · 2021Article
- Cerebrospinal fluid signal loss sign: assessment of a new radiological sign in lumbar spinal stenosis.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 · 2021Article
- Nerve root sedimentation sign on MRI: A triage screen for leg dominant symptoms?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 · 2021Article
- Percutaneous spinal endoscopy with unilateral interlaminar approach to perform bilateral decompression for central lumbar spinal stenosis: radiographic and clinical assessment.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Article
- Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: The Reliability, Sensitivity and Specificity of the Nerve Root Sedimentation Sign.Malaysian orthopaedic journal · 2018Article
- The nerve root sedimentation sign for differential diagnosis of lumbar spinal stenosis: a retrospective, consecutive cohort study.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 · 2017Article
- Reversibility of nerve root sedimentation sign in lumbar spinal stenosis patients after decompression surgery.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 · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis study aimed to determine the diagnostic value of the nerve root sedimentation sign, a relatively new radiological sign using magnetic resonance imaging, for diagnosing lumbar spinal stenosis. MATERIALS AND
methodsThe literature search was based on PUBMED, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database up to March 2014. A total of 120 articles were identified. Seven studies involving 1,182 patients were included.
resultsThe quality of the methodology of the seven studies was good. Overall, the pooled weighted value showed that the sedimentation sign had moderate sensitivity of 0.80 [95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.77-0.83] and high specificity of 0.96 (95 % CI 0.94-0.98). The area under the curve was 0.76. Subgroup analysis showed that the degree of morphological spinal stenosis was responsible for the heterogeneity. In the patients with severe morphological lumbar spinal stenosis, the sedimentation sign had even higher sensitivity and specificity: 0.899 (95 % CI 0.87-0.92) and 0.99 (95 % CI 0.98-1.00), respectively. The area under the curve was 0.96. In the patients with lumbar spinal stenosis without definition of morphological stenosis, there was a notable threshold effect and significant heterogeneity. The area under the curve was 0.63.
conclusionCurrent evidence suggests that the sedimentation sign has high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing severe lumbar spinal stenosis. Its performance in diagnosing moderate and mild spinal stenosis, however, has yet to be corroborated in properly designed studies.
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Registered trials
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