ReviewFrontiers in neurology2017
A Systematic Review of Non-Traumatic Spinal Cord Injuries in Sub-Saharan Africa and a Proposed Diagnostic Algorithm for Resource-Limited Settings.
Review in Frontiers in neurology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cervical compressive myelopathy in Africa: a systematic review of clinical presentation, diagnostic pathways, surgical management, and outcomes.BMC neurology · 2026Pooled it
- Red flags for the early detection of spinal infection in back pain patients.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2019Pooled it
- Non-traumatic spinal cord injury - etiological profile and associated factors: single rheumatological center experience.Reumatologia · 2024Article
- Acute spinal cord injury in Africa: exploring the long-term outcomes and future directions of acute spinal cord injury - short communication.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2023Article
- Article
- The prevalence and profile of spinal cord injury in public healthcare rehabilitation units in Gauteng, South Africa.Spinal cord series and cases · 2023Article
- Neurological Impairment Recovery in Surgically Treated Patients With Nontraumatic Spinal Cord Injury.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2022Article
- Neurological disorders in Northern Tanzania: A 6-year prospective hospital-based case series.African health sciences · 2022Article
- Establishing the Socio-Economic Impact of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy Is Fundamental to Improving Outcomes [AO Spine RECODE-DCM Research Priority Number 8].Global spine journal · 2022Article
- Epidemiology of non-traumatic spinal cord injury in Ireland - a prospective population-based study.The journal of spinal cord medicine · 2022Article
- Pott's paraplegia and role of neuroimaging in resource limited setting: A case report and brief review of the literatures.Journal of clinical tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases · 2021Article
- Clinical Presentation and Causes of Non-traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: An Observational Study in Emergency Patients.Frontiers in neurology · 2021Article
- Bone morphogenic protein signaling in spinal cord injury.Neuroimmunology and neuroinflammation · 2021Article
- History of Spinal Neurosurgery and Spine Societies.Neurospine · 2020Article
- Epidemiology of non-traumatic spinal cord injury in Uganda: a single center, prospective study with MRI evaluation.BMC neurology · 2019Article
- Neuroschistosomiasis Mimicking Spinal Tuberculosis: A Case Report.Nigerian medical journal : journal of the Nigeria Medical AssociationArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNon-traumatic myelopathy is common in Africa and there are geographic differences in etiology. Clinical management is challenging due to the broad differential diagnosis and the lack of diagnostics. The objective of this systematic review is to determine the most common etiologies of non-traumatic myelopathy in sub-Saharan Africa to inform a regionally appropriate diagnostic algorithm.
methodsWe conducted a systemic review searching Medline and Embase databases using the following search terms: "Non traumatic spinal cord injury" or "myelopathy" with limitations to epidemiology or etiologies and Sub-Saharan Africa. We described the frequencies of the different etiologies and proposed a diagnostic algorithm based on the most common diagnoses.
resultsWe identified 19 studies all performed at tertiary institutions; 15 were retrospective and 13 were published in the era of the HIV epidemic. Compressive bone lesions accounted for more than 48% of the cases; a majority were Pott's disease and metastatic disease. No diagnosis was identified in up to 30% of cases in most studies; in particular, definitive diagnoses of non-compressive lesions were rare and a majority were clinical diagnoses of transverse myelitis and HIV myelopathy. Age and HIV were major determinants of etiology.
conclusionCompressive myelopathies represent a majority of non-traumatic myelopathies in sub-Saharan Africa, and most were due to Pott's disease. Non-compressive myelopathies have not been well defined and need further research in Africa. We recommend a standardized approach to management of non-traumatic myelopathy focused on identifying treatable conditions with tests widely available in low-resource settings.
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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.