Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32744112›Full record

ArticleGlobal spine journal2021

Surgical Outcomes for Upper Lumbar Disc Herniations: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Murray Echt, Ryan Holland, Wenzhu Mowrey, Phillip Cezayirli, Rafael De la Garza Ramos, Mousa Hamad, Yaroslav Gelfand, Michael Longo, Merritt D Kinon, Vijay Yanamadala and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Global spine journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 24% 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

14 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. A technical report and pilot feasibility study of a novel minimally invasive tubular trans-isthmus oblique approach for upper lumbar disc herniation.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
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Unilateral biportal endoscopy for upper lumbar disc herniation: surgical challenges and clinical outcomes.Wideochirurgia i inne techniki maloinwazyjne = Videosurgery and other miniinvasive techniques · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. [Imaging study and clinical application of unilateral biportal endoscopy technique for upper lumbar disc herniation via contralateral approach].Zhongguo xiu fu chong jian wai ke za zhi = Zhongguo xiufu chongjian waike zazhi = Chinese journal of reparative and reconstructive surgery · 2022
    Article
  13. Article
  14. 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

13 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Murray Echt2013Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4504-4918
Ryan Holland2013Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
Wenzhu Mowrey2013Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
Phillip Cezayirli2013Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1165-0952
Rafael De la Garza Ramos2013Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
Mousa Hamad2013Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
Yaroslav Gelfand2013Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0920-8911
Michael Longo2013Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2462-6118
Merritt D Kinon2013Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
Vijay Yanamadala2013Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2456-5888
Saad Chaudhary5925Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
Samuel K Cho5925Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7511-2486
Reza Yassari2013Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine · USIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

designSystematic review and meta-analysis.

objectiveTo conduct a literature review on outcomes of discectomy for upper lumbar disc herniations (ULDH), estimate pooled rates of satisfactory outcomes, compare open laminectomy/microdiscectomy (OLM) versus minimally invasive surgical (MIS) techniques, and compare results of disc herniations at L1-3 versus L3-4.

methodsA systematic review of articles reporting outcomes of nonfusion surgical treatment of L1-2, L2-3, and/or L3-4 disc herniations was performed. The inclusion and exclusion of studies was performed according to the latest version of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement.

resultsA total of 20 articles were included in the quantitative meta-analysis. Pooled proportion of satisfactory outcome (95% CI) was 0.77 (0.70, 0.83) for MIS and 0.82 (0.78, 0.84) for OLM. There was no significant improvement with MIS techniques compared with standard OLM, odds ratio (OR) = 0.86, 95% CI (0.42, 1.74),

conclusionOur analysis reveals that discectomy for ULDH has an overall success rate of approximately 80% and has not improved with MIS. Discectomy for herniations at L3-4 trends toward better outcomes compared with L1-2 and L2-3, but was not significant.

Indexed as

discectomyintervertebral disc degenerationintervertebral disc diseaseintervertebral disc displacementlaminectomyodds ratio

Identifiers

PMID32744112
PMCPMC8165931
OpenAlexW3047388599

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.