ArticleGlobal spine journal2020
Opportunistic Computed Tomography and Spine Surgery: A Narrative Review.
Article in Global spine journal, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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.
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
5 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Region-specific QCT thresholds for osteoporosis assessment in the thoracic spine: why lumbar cut-offs fail.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- Biomechanical evaluation of individual 3D-printed vertebrae.BMC biomedical engineering · 2026Article
- Side specific differences of Hounsfield-Units in the osteoporotic lumbar spine.Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong) · 2024Article
- Clinical use of quantitative computed tomography to evaluate the effect of less paraspinal muscle damage on bone mineral density changes after lumbar interbody fusion.Asian spine journal · 2024Article
- Discrepancy between DXA and CT-based assessment of spine bone mineral density.Spine deformity · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
designNarrative review.
objectiveThis article seeks to provide a narrative review regarding the ability of opportunistic information available from computed tomography (CT) scans to guide decisions in spine surgery related to patient bone quality.
methodsA review of the literature (limited to human and English language) was performed via PubMed and Google Scholar using the search terms; "osteoporosis" AND "opportunistic" AND "computed tomography" AND "spine surgery." The titles and then abstracts of all identified citations were reviewed for inclusion by 2 of the authors (MS, BAF). Relevant articles were then studied in full text.
resultsA review of the literature found 25 articles that were selected for inclusion in this narrative review. These articles were broadly divided into 4 subcategories: (1) opportunistic CT (oCT) and osteoporosis detection, (2) oCT data and the quality of screw fixation, (3) utilization of Hounsfield units to assess clinical and/or radiographic outcomes following spine fusion, and (4) virtual stress testing in spine surgery.
conclusionThe literature on oCT, as well as associated virtual stress-testing techniques, demonstrate the potential to enhance spine surgery outcomes by preoperatively identifying at-risk patients in need of bone health optimization and informing best techniques for performing spinal fusion surgery on patients with diminished bone quality. While our narrative summary of the limited literature to date suggests a promising future for oCT data, significant additional research and/or radiographic workflow standardization is needed to validate these methods for clinical use.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.