Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28178999›Full record

SynthesisJournal of orthopaedic surgery and research2017

The correlation between the high-intensity zone on a T2-weighted MRI and positive outcomes of discography: a meta-analysis.

Chunyang Fang, Wenbin Zhang, Liqiu Chen, Hongjie Li

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research, 2017. 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.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing 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

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

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. 14. Discogenic Low Back Pain.Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Observational
  11. Article
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

4 authors.

Chunyang FangDepartment of Orthopedics, The First People's Hospital of Wenling, No. 190, Taiping Nan Road, Wenling, Zhejiang Province, 317500, People's Republic of China.
Wenbin ZhangDepartment of Orthopedics, The First People's Hospital of Wenling, No. 190, Taiping Nan Road, Wenling, Zhejiang Province, 317500, People's Republic of China.
Liqiu ChenDepartment of Orthopedics, The First People's Hospital of Wenling, No. 190, Taiping Nan Road, Wenling, Zhejiang Province, 317500, People's Republic of China.
Hongjie LiDepartment of Orthopedics, The First People's Hospital of Wenling, No. 190, Taiping Nan Road, Wenling, Zhejiang Province, 317500, People's Republic of China. wzlihongjie@163.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis meta-analysis aimed to assess the correlation between the high-intensity zone (HIZ) of a lumbar MRI and discography.

methodsWe conducted an electronic search of the PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and ScienceDirect databases from their respective inceptions to October 2016 using the following search terms: "low back pain," "discogenic low back pain," "HIZ or high-intensity zone," and "discography". Relevant journals and conference proceedings were manually searched. Two reviewers independently assessed the quality of the studies, extracted data from the included studies, and analyzed the data.

resultsEleven studies were included. The results of the meta-analysis indicated that outstanding relativity and statistically significant correlations were observed between the HIZ and abnormal disc morphology (OR = 47.79; 95% CI: 17.07 to 133.77; P < 0.00001), HIZ and pain reproduction (OR = 8.65, 95% CI: 6.01 to 15.23, P < 0.00001), and HIZ and abnormal morphology pain reproduction (OR = 11.74, 95% CI: 1.99 to 69.36, P = 0.007).

conclusionsThe presence of an HIZ on a lumbar MRI T2-weighted image indicates abnormal disc morphology. There is a strong relationship between the HIZ and pain reproduction. The HIZ can be an effective index for prediction of discogenic low back pain.

Indexed as

HumansIntervertebral DiscIntervertebral Disc DisplacementLow Back PainLumbar VertebraeMagnetic Resonance ImagingPressureRadiography, InterventionalDiscographyHigh-intensity zoneLow back painMeta-analysisMRI

Identifiers

PMID28178999
PMCPMC5299742

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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.