SynthesisDevelopmental medicine and child neurology2020
Long-term effects of selective dorsal rhizotomy in children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Developmental medicine and child neurology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 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.
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.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 85 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neurosurgical management for chronic and end-of-life pain in children: A systematic review.Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain · 2025Pooled it
- Intrathecal baclofen, selective dorsal rhizotomy, and extracorporeal shockwave therapy for the treatment of spasticity in cerebral palsy: a systematic review.Neurosurgical review · 2021Pooled it
- Pediatric spasticity in Brazil: insights from a neurosurgical referral center.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2026Article
- Outcomes of selective dorsal rhizotomy in ambulatory children and young people with cerebral palsy: A scoping review.Developmental medicine and child neurology · 2026Article
- Mixed-methods study exploring medium to longer-term outcomes following selective dorsal rhizotomy in ambulatory children wBMJ open · 2025Article
- Hyperselective neurectomy for spastic equinovarus in pediatric patients with hypertonia.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicine · 2025Article
- Repeat selective dorsal rhizotomy for residual spasticity: illustrative case.Journal of neurosurgery. Case lessons · 2025Article
- Enhancement of postural control and upper limb function following selective dorsal rhizotomy: a retrospectively registered study.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Article
- Selective dorsal rhizotomy from indication to rehabilitation: a worldwide survey.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2025Article
- Quality of Movement Changes in Ambulatory Children with Cerebral Palsy 1 Year after Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy.Physiotherapy Canada. Physiotherapie Canada · 2025Article
- Postoperative Functional Recovery and Rehabilitation Following Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy.Advances and technical standards in neurosurgery · 2025Review
- Preoperative Assessments for Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy.Advances and technical standards in neurosurgery · 2025Review
- Postoperative pain and pain management following selective dorsal rhizotomy.BMJ paediatrics open · 2024Article
- A preliminary study on the spasticity reduction of quadriceps after selective dorsal rhizotomy in pediatric cases of spastic cerebral palsy.Acta neurochirurgica · 2024Article
- Short-term change of tibial torsion in children with spastic cerebral palsy after selective dorsal rhizotomy.Translational pediatrics · 2023Article
- Safety and Feasibility of Functional Repetitive Neuromuscular Magnetic Stimulation of the Gluteal Muscles in Children and Adolescents with Bilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Spasticity and movement disorders in cerebral palsy.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2023Review
- Unsupervised machine learning effectively clusters pediatric spastic cerebral palsy patients for determination of optimal responders to selective dorsal rhizotomy.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Article
- Improvement of the gait pattern after selective dorsal rhizotomy derives from changes of kinematic parameters in the sagittal plane.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimTo evaluate the long-term effects of selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) 10 years or more after the procedure and complications observed any time after SDR in children with cerebral palsy (CP).
methodEmbase, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library were searched from their individual dates of inception through 1st June 2018 for full-text original articles in English that described long-term follow-up after SDR in children with CP. The authors independently screened publications to determine whether they met inclusion criteria; thereafter all authors extracted data on patient characteristics, the proportion of the original cohort being followed-up, and the reported outcomes.
resultsOf the 199 studies identified, 16 were included in this evaluation: 14 were case series and two studies reported a retrospectively assigned comparison group. Evidence concerning function was limited by study design differences, clinical variability, loss to follow-up, and heterogeneity across trials.
interpretationAt 10 years or more follow-up, available studies generate low-level evidence with considerable bias. No functional improvement of SDR over routine therapy is documented. Furthermore, the long-term effects of SDR with respect to spasticity reduction is unclear, with many studies reporting a high amount of add-on spasticity treatment. More long-term follow-up using robust scientific protocols is required before it can be decided whether the use of SDR as routine therapy for children with CP is to be recommended or not. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: Ten years after selective dorsal rhizotomy, available studies supply inconclusive evidence on functional outcomes. The long-term effect on spasticity is uncertain, studies reported a substantial need for add-on treatment. Short- and long-term complications seem frequent but are not reported in a consistent manner.
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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.