Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28540122›Full record

ArticleSurgical neurology international2017

Presurgical role of MRI tractography in a case of extensive cervicothoracic spinal ependymoma.

Francesca Granata, Sergio Racchiusa, Enricomaria Mormina, Valeria Barresi, Giada Garufi, Giovanni Grasso, Francesco Maria Salpietro, Marcello Longo, Concetta Alafaci

Open access · hybridAbstract readCase Reports
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Surgical neurology international, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 43% of its field
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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Utility of diffusion tensor imaging and tractography (DTI/DTT) in the surgical resection of intramedullary spinal cord tumors: A scoping 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 · 2026
    Article
  3. The use of diffusion tensor imaging in spinal pathology: a comprehensive literature 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 · 2024
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. 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

9 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Francesca GranataNeuroradiology Unit, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
Sergio RacchiusaNeuroradiology Unit, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
Enricomaria MorminaNeuroradiology Unit, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
Valeria BarresiSection of Pathological Anatomy, Department of Human Pathology, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
Giada GarufiSection of Neurosurgery, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
Giovanni GrassoSection of Neurosurgery, Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences (BIONEC), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Francesco Maria SalpietroSection of Neurosurgery, Department of Human Pathology, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
Marcello LongoNeuroradiology Unit, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
Concetta AlafaciSection of Neurosurgery, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
Morpho (United States) · USUniversity of Messina · ITWinthrop-University Hospital · USPathological Society · GBUniversity of Palermo · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIntramedullary spinal ependymoma is a tumor, hardly characterizable with conventional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging only. MR diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with three-dimensional fiber-tracking reconstructions allows the evaluation of the relationship between neoplasm and white matter fiber tracts, being a powerful tool in presurgical planning. We present DTI findings in a case of a young female with an extensive cervicothoracic spinal ependymoma. CASE DESCRIPTION: The patient complained of a 2-month history of acute urinary retention, weakness and numbness on the lower limbs and the upper left limb. She underwent MR imaging that showed an extensive cervicothoracic spinal mass, difficult to characterize with conventional MR sequences. DTI showed peripherally displacement of fibers, without involvement of the spinal cord, findings consistent with an ependymoma. The patient underwent surgery with a complete resection "

conclusionsDTI is a useful tool in presurgical planning, helping in differentiating not infiltrating neoplasms, such as spinal ependymomas, from other infiltrative and more aggressive neoplasms, which are considered not resectable.

Indexed as

Cervicothoracic tractDTIependymomaspinal cord

Identifiers

PMID28540122
PMCPMC5421221
OpenAlexW2612584253

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
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Registered trials

None linked

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.