Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33203250›Full record

ArticleGlobal spine journal2022

High-Intensity Zones on MRI of the Cervical Spine in Patients: Epidemiology and Association With Pain and Disability.

Austin Q Nguyen, Garrett K Harada, Kayla L Leverich, Krishn Khanna, Philip K Louie, Bryce A Basques, Youping Tao, Fabio Galbusera, Frank Niemeyer, Hans-Joachim Wilke and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Global spine journal, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.1field-weighted citation impact, top 49% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review Article: Diagnostic Paradigm Shift in Spine Surgery.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Review
  3. 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

12 authors at 1 institution in 3 countries.

Austin Q Nguyen2468Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6451-4412
Garrett K Harada2468Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
Kayla L Leverich2468Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
Krishn Khanna2468Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
Philip K Louie2468Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4787-1538
Bryce A Basques2468Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7745-8701
Youping Tao2468Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
Fabio Galbusera2468Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
Frank Niemeyer2468Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
Hans-Joachim Wilke2468Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
Howard S An2468Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
Dino Samartzis2468Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7473-1311
Rush University Medical Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

designRetrospective cohort study.

objectivesThis study aimed to address the prevalence, distribution, and clinical significance of cervical high-intensity zones (HIZs) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with respect to pain and other patient-reported outcomes in the setting of patients that will undergo an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) procedure.

methodsA retrospective cohort study of ACDF patients surgically treated at a single center from 2008 to 2015. Based on preoperative MRI, HIZ subtypes were identified as either traditional T2-hyperintense, T1-hypointense ("single-HIZs"), or combined T1- and T2-hyperintense ("dual-HIZs"), and their level-specific prevalence was assessed. Preoperative symptoms, patient-reported outcomes, and disc degeneration pathology were assessed in relation to HIZs and HIZ subtypes.

resultsOf 861 patients, 58 demonstrated evidence of HIZs in the cervical spine (6.7%). Single-HIZs and dual-HIZs comprised 63.8% and 36.2% of the overall HIZs, respectively. HIZs found outside of the planned fusion segment reported better preoperative Neck Disability Index (NDI;

conclusionsThis is the first study to evaluate the clinical significance of HIZs in the cervical spine, noting level-specific and clinical outcome-specific variations. Single-HIZs were associated with significantly more pain when located inside the fusion segment, while dual-HIZs showed no associations with patient-reported outcomes. The presence of single-HIZs may correlate with concurrent spinal pathologies and should be more closely evaluated.

Indexed as

cervicaldegenerativediscdiseasehigh-intensity zonesHIZlow back painMRIneck pain

Identifiers

PMID33203250
PMCPMC9344501
OpenAlexW3105292361

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.