Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32430769›Full record

Trial reportEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2020

Two-level ACDF with a zero-profile stand-alone spacer compared to conventional plating: a prospective randomized single-center study.

M Scholz, B Onal, P Schleicher, A Pingel, C Hoffmann, F Kandziora

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in 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, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
3.1field-weighted citation impact, top 8% 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

22 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Article
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  6. Three-Dimensional Printed Anterior Cervical Standalone Combined Cage-Plate-300 Consecutive Medical Implants.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2025
    Article
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  9. [Comparison of effectiveness between zero-profile anchored cage and plate-cage construct in treatment of consecutive three-level cervical spondylosis].Zhongguo xiu fu chong jian wai ke za zhi = Zhongguo xiufu chongjian waike zazhi = Chinese journal of reparative and reconstructive surgery · 2025
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  14. Evaluation of outcome measures for post-operative dysphagia after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2023
    Review
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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 at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

M ScholzCenter for Spinal Surgery and Neurotraumatology, BG Unfallklinik Frankfurt am Main gGmbH, Friedberger Landstraße 430, 60389, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. matti.scholz@bgu-frankfurt.de.ORCID 0000-0001-5748-3435
B OnalNeurosurgical Department, Acıbadem University Vocational School of Health Services, Istanbul, Turkey.
P SchleicherCenter for Spinal Surgery and Neurotraumatology, BG Unfallklinik Frankfurt am Main gGmbH, Friedberger Landstraße 430, 60389, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
A PingelCenter for Spinal Surgery and Neurotraumatology, BG Unfallklinik Frankfurt am Main gGmbH, Friedberger Landstraße 430, 60389, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
C HoffmannCenter for Spinal Surgery and Neurotraumatology, BG Unfallklinik Frankfurt am Main gGmbH, Friedberger Landstraße 430, 60389, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
F KandzioraCenter for Spinal Surgery and Neurotraumatology, BG Unfallklinik Frankfurt am Main gGmbH, Friedberger Landstraße 430, 60389, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Berufsgenossenschaftliche Unfallklinik Frankfurt am Main · DEAcıbadem University · TR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeStand-alone zero-profile devices have already proven safety, and a reduced dysphagia rate was assumed. So far, no level-one evidence is available to prove the proposed advantages of zero-profile implants in multilevel procedures. The aim of this RCT was to compare the clinical and radiological outcome of a zero-profile spacer versus cage + plate in two-level ACDF.

methodsConsecutive patients with contiguous two-level cDD were randomly assigned either to the interventional group (zero-profile device) or to the control group (cage + plate). Primary endpoint of the study was the prevalence of dysphagia at 24 months. Disability, progress of adjacent segment degeneration, fusion status and loss of correction were analyzed as secondary outcome measure. Primary outcome parameter was statistically analyzed by Chi-square test.

resultsForty-one patients met inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to the interventional and the control group. Dysphagia was frequent in either group at 3 months FU favoring interventional group (p = 0.078). At final FU, less patients of the interventional group complained about dysphagia, but the difference was not significant. No relevant differences at final FU were recorded for NPDI, loss of correction and adjacent-level degeneration. Fusion rate was slightly lower in the interventional group. DISCUSSION: Two-level ACDF either by a stand-alone zero-profile spacer or cage + plate is safe. Using a zero-profile cage dysphagia was infrequent at 24 months, but the value did not reach statistical significance in comparison with the cage + plate. Hence, this randomized trial was not able to prove the proposed clinical superiority for dysphagia rates for zero-profile anchored spacer in two-level cDD.

Indexed as

DiskectomySpinal FusionBone PlatesCervical VertebraeHumansPostoperative ComplicationsProspective StudiesTreatment OutcomeACDFCervical spineDysphagiaPlateStand-alone cage

Identifiers

PMID32430769
OpenAlexW3026568759

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

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.