Trial reportSpine2015
Is the sedimentation sign associated with spinal stenosis surgical treatment effect in SPORT?
Trial report in Spine, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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
- Management of lumbar spinal stenosis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2016Pooled it
- An Investigation Into the Relationship Between the Sedimentation Sign and Lumbar Disc Herniation in Upright Magnetic Resonance Images.Global spine journal · 2024Article
- The Essence of Clinical Practice Guidelines for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis, 2021: 2. Diagnosis and Evaluation.Spine surgery and related research · 2023Article
- 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
- Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Spinal Canal in Quantitative Assessment of Patients with Lumbar Spinal Canal Stenosis.Asian spine journal · 2021Article
- Quantification of Lumbar Spinal Canal Stenosis by Quantitative Fat-Suppressed Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Article
- Article
- [Research progress on nerve root sedimentation sign 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 · 2019Article
- 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
- Degenerative lumbar spinal canal stenosis: intra- and inter-reader agreement for magnetic resonance imaging parameters.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
- Letter to the Editor concerning "Relationship between sedimentation sign and morphological grade in symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis" (by Laudato PA, Kulik G, Schizas C (2015) Eur Spine J; 24(10):2264-2268).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 · 2016Article
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 at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
STUDY
designSubgroup analysis of the lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) without degenerative spondylolisthesis diagnostic cohort of the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial multicenter randomized clinical trial with a concurrent observational cohort.
objectiveTo determine if sedimentation sign on magnetic resonance image can help with LSS treatment decisions. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: LSS is one of the most common reasons for surgery in the US elderly, but there is a dearth of reliable diagnostic tools that give a clear indication for surgery. Recent studies have suggested that positive sedimentation sign on magnetic resonance image may be a possible prognostic indicator.
methodsAll patients with LSS in both the randomized and observational cohorts had imaging-confirmed stenosis, were surgical candidates, and had neurogenic claudication for at least 12 weeks prior to enrollment. Patients were categorized as "mild," "moderate," or "severe" according to stenosis severity. Of the 654 patients with LSS enrolled in Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial, complete T2-weighted axial and sagittal digitized images of 115 patients were available for retrospective review. An independent orthopedic spine surgeon evaluated these deidentified Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine files for the sedimentation sign.
resultsSixty-six percent (76/115) of patients were found to have a positive sedimentation sign. Those with a positive sedimentation sign were more likely to have stenosis at L2-L3 (33% vs. 10% P=0.016) or L3-L4 76% vs. 51%, P=0.012), and to have severe (72% vs. 33%, P<0.0001) central stenosis (93% vs. 67% P<0.001) at 2 or more concurrent levels (57% vs. 18%, P=0.01). In multivariate models, the surgical treatment effect was significantly larger in the positive sedimentation sign group for Oswestry Disability Index (-16 vs. -7; P=0.02).
conclusionA positive sedimentation sign was associated with a small but significantly greater surgical treatment effect for Oswestry Disability Index in patients with symptomatic LSS, after adjusting for other demographic and imaging features. These findings suggest that positive sedimentation sign may potentially be a useful adjunct to help guide an informed treatment choice regarding surgery for LSS. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.