Trial reportEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2017
The Norwegian Cervical Arthroplasty Trial (NORCAT): 2-year clinical outcome after single-level cervical arthroplasty versus fusion-a prospective, single-blinded, randomized, controlled multicenter study.
Trial report in 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, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT00735176 (Treatment of Cervical Radiculopathy With Arthroplasty Compared With Discectomy With Fusion and Cage), which is not on this map. Cited by 25 papers, 6 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.
Treatment of Cervical Radiculopathy With Arthroplasty Compared With Discectomy With Fusion and Cage (ACDF. Clinical, Radiological and Biomechanical Aspects. A Randomized Multicenter Study.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cervical disc replacement versus anterior cervical discectomy and fusion using stand-alone cage for degenerative cervical spondylosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials.Neurosurgical review · 2025Pooled it
- Randomized controlled trials comparing cervical disc arthroplasty and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion outcomes in degenerative spine disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neurosurgery. Spine · 2025Pooled it
- Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Surgical Treatments in Patients With Pure Cervical Radiculopathy.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Cervical radiculopathy: is a prosthesis preferred over fusion surgery? A systematic review.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 · 2020Pooled it
- Cervical Artificial Disc Replacement Versus Fusion for Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease: A Health Technology Assessment.Ontario health technology assessment series · 2019Pooled it
- Secondary Surgery after Cervical Disc Arthroplasty versus Fusion for Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease: A Meta-analysis with Trial Sequential Analysis.Orthopaedic surgery · 2018Pooled it
- What is success of treatment? Expected outcome scores in cervical radiculopathy patients were much higher than the previously reported cut-off values for success.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 · 2022Trial
- Effect of Arthroplasty vs Fusion for Patients With Cervical Radiculopathy: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2021Trial
- A randomised controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of surgical and nonsurgical treatment for cervical radiculopathy.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2020Trial
- Clinical outcome 24 months after cervical disc arthroplasty with a new articulating and viscoelastic disc prosthesis.Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong) · 2026Article
- Cervical Disc Arthroplasty: Rationale, Designs, and Results of Randomized Controlled Trials.International journal of spine surgery · 2024Article
- Relative Efficacy of Cervical Total Disc Arthroplasty Devices and Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion for Cervical Pathology: A Network Meta-Analysis.Global spine journal · 2024Review
- Comparison of discover cervical disc arthroplasty and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for the treatment of cervical degenerative disc diseases: A meta-analysis of prospective, randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in surgery · 2023Review
- Anterior surgical treatment for cervical degenerative radiculopathy: a prediction model for non-success.Acta neurochirurgica · 2023Article
- Cervical and Lumbar Disc Arthroplasty: A Review of Current Implant Design and Outcomes.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Outcomes After Cervical Disc Arthroplasty Versus Stand-Alone Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: A Meta-Analysis.Global spine journal · 2020Article
- Implant complications after one-level or two-level cervical disc arthroplasty: A retrospective single-centre study of 105 patients.Medicine · 2020Observational
- Cervical spine pathology and treatment: a global overview.Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong) · 2020Review
- Cervical disc herniation: which surgery?International orthopaedics · 2019Review
- Spondylolisthesis adjacent to a cervical disc arthroplasty does not increase the risk of adjacent level degeneration.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 · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeStandard surgical treatment for symptomatic cervical disc disease has been discectomy and fusion, but the use of arthroplasty, designed to preserve motion, has increased, and most studies report clinical outcome in its favor. Few of these trials, however, blinded the patients. We, therefore, conducted the Norwegian Cervical Arthroplasty Trial, and present 2-year clinical outcome after arthroplasty or fusion.
methodsThis multicenter trial included 136 patients with single-level cervical disc disease. The patients were randomized to arthroplasty or fusion, and blinded to the treatment modality. The surgical team was blinded to randomization until nerve root decompression was completed. Primary outcome was the self-rated Neck Disability Index. Secondary outcomes were the numeric rating scale for pain and quality of life questionnaires Short Form-36 and EuroQol-5Dimension-3 Level.
resultsThere was a significant improvement in the primary and all secondary outcomes from baseline to 2-year follow-up for both arthroplasty and fusion (P < 0.001), and no observed significant between-group differences at any follow-up times. However, linear mixed model analyses, correcting for baseline values, dropouts and missing data, revealed a difference in Neck Disability Index (P = 0.049), and arm pain (P = 0.027) in favor of fusion at 2 years. The duration of surgery was longer (P < 0.001), and the frequency of reoperations higher (P = 0.029) with arthroplasty.
conclusionThe present study showed excellent clinical results and no significant difference between treatments at any scheduled follow-up. However, the rate of index level reoperations was higher and the duration of surgery longer with arthroplasty.
trial registrationhttp://www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT 00735176.19.
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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.