Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28164254›Full record

ArticleMusculoskeletal surgery2017

Utility of 18F sodium fluoride PET/CT imaging in the evaluation of postoperative pain following surgical spine fusion.

D Pouldar, S Bakshian, R Matthews, V Rao, M Manzano, S Dardashti

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Musculoskeletal surgery, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. 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
    Article
  3. Review
  4. [Brain sciences · 2025
    Article
  5. Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025
    Article
  6. The Use ofDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024
    Article
  7. Diagnostic value ofZhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences · 2023
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. 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

6 authors.

D PouldarAlbany Medical College, 255 Patroon Creek Blvd, Apt #1312, Albany, NY, 12206, USA. pouldad@mail.amc.edu.
S BakshianTower Orthopedics, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
R MatthewsDepartment of Radiology, Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
V RaoRadnet, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, USA.
M ManzanoDepartment of Radiology, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
S DardashtiRadnet, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

designA retrospective case review of patients who underwent 18F sodium fluoride PET/CT imaging of the spine with postoperative pain following vertebral fusion.

objectiveTo determine the benefit of 18F sodium fluoride PET/CT imaging in the diagnosis of persistent pain in the postoperative spine. The diagnosis of pain generators in the postoperative spine has proven to be a diagnostic challenge. The conventional radiologic evaluation of persistent pain after spine surgery with the use of plain radiographs, MRI, and CT can often fall short of diagnosis in the complex patient. 18F sodium fluoride PET/CT imaging is an alternative tool to accurately identify a patient's source of pain in the difficult patient.

methodsThis retrospective study looked at 25 adult patients who had undergone 18F sodium fluoride PET/CT imaging. All patients had persistent or recurrent back pain over the course of a 15-month period after having undergone spinal fusion surgery. All patients had inconclusive dedicated MRI. The clinical accuracy of PET/CT in identifying the pain generator and contribution to altering the decision making process was compared to the use of CT scan alone.

resultsOf the 25 patients studied, 17 patients had increased uptake on the 18F sodium fluoride PET/CT fusion images. There was a high-level correlation of radiotracer uptake to the patients' pain generator. Overall 88% of the studies were considered beneficial with either PET/CT altering the clinical diagnosis and treatment plan of the patient or confirming unnecessary surgery.

conclusion18F sodium fluoride PET/CT proves to be a useful tool in the diagnosis of complex spine pathology of the postoperative patients. In varied cases, a high correlation of metabolic activity to the source of the patient's pain was observed.

Indexed as

Fluorine RadioisotopesPositron Emission Tomography Computed TomographySodium FluorideSpinal FusionAdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPain MeasurementPostoperative PainRadiopharmaceuticalsRetrospective StudiesFluorine-18Fluorine RadioisotopesRadiopharmaceuticalsSodium FluorideDiagnosticsPainPET/CTPostoperativePseudarthrosisRadiotracerSpineUptake

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Registered trials

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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.