Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33355842›Full record

ArticleJournal of Korean Neurosurgical Society2021

Successful Motor Evoked Potential Monitoring in Cervical Myelopathy : Related Factors and the Effect of Increased Stimulation Intensity.

Hyok Ki Shim, Jae Meen Lee, Dong Hwan Kim, Kyoung Hyup Nam, Byung Kwan Choi, In Ho Han

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 22% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Intraoperative neuromonitoring in degenerative cervical myelopathy surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy and postoperative neurological outcomes.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
    Pooled it
  2. Observational
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
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 1 institution in 1 country.

Hyok Ki ShimDepartment of Neurosurgery and Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
Jae Meen LeeDepartment of Neurosurgery and Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
Dong Hwan KimDepartment of Neurosurgery and Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
Kyoung Hyup NamDepartment of Neurosurgery and Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
Byung Kwan ChoiDepartment of Neurosurgery and Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
In Ho HanDepartment of Neurosurgery and Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
Pusan National University Hospital · KR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveIntraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) has been widely used during spine surgery to reduce or prevent neurologic deficits, however, its application to the surgical management for cervical myelopathy remains controversial. This study aimed to assess the success rate of IONM in patients with cervical myelopathy and to investigate the factors associated with successful baseline monitoring and the effect of increasing the stimulation intensity by focusing on motor evoked potentials (MEPs).

methodsThe data of 88 patients who underwent surgery for cervical myelopathy with IONM between January 2016 and June 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. The success rate of baseline MEP monitoring at the initial stimulation of 400 V was investigated. In unmonitorable cases, the stimulation intensity was increased to 999 V, and the success rate final MEP monitoring was reinvestigated. In addition, factors related to the success rate of baseline MEP monitoring were investigated using independent t-test, Wilcoxon rank-sum test, chi-squared test, and Fisher's exact probability test for statistical analysis. The factors included age, sex, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, smoking history, symptom duration, Torg-Pavlov ratio, space available for the cord (SAC), cord compression ratio (CCR), intramedullary increased signal intensity (SI) on magnetic resonance imaging, SI length, SI ratio, the Medical Research Council (MRC) grade, the preoperative modified Nurick grade and Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score.

resultsThe overall success rate for reliable MEP response was 52.3% after increasing the stimulation intensity. No complications were observed to be associated with increased intensity. The factors related to the success rate of final MEP monitoring were found to be SAC (p<0.001), CCR (p<0.001), MRC grade (p<0.001), preoperative modified Nurick grade (p<0.001), and JOA score (p<0.001). The cut-off score for successful MEP monitoring was 5.67 mm for SAC, 47.33% for the CCR, 3 points for MRC grade, 2 points for the modified Nurick grade, and 12 points for the JOA score.

conclusionIncreasing the stimulation intensity could significantly improve the success rate of baseline MEP monitoring for unmonitorable cases at the initial stimulation in cervical myelopathy. In particular, the SAC, CCR, MRC grade, preoperative Nurick grade and JOA score may be considered as the more important related factors associated with the success rate of MEP monitoring. Therefore, the degree of preoperative neurological functional deficits and the presence of spinal cord compression on imaging could be used as new detailed criteria for the application of IONM in patients with cervical myelopathy.

Indexed as

Cervical myelopathyEvoked potentials, MotorStimulation intensitySuccess rate

Identifiers

PMID33355842
PMCPMC7819792
OpenAlexW3113936376

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.