Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33447669›Full record

ArticleJournal of spine surgery (Hong Kong)2020

Symptomatic pseudarthrosis requiring revision surgery after 1- or 2-level ACDF with plating: peek versus allograft.

Abdul Fettah Buyuk, Ikemefuna Onyekwelu, Christian J Gaffney, Amir A Mehbod, John M Dawson, Timothy A Garvey, Benjamin Mueller, James D Schwender

Open access · diamondAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 9% 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

8 citing papers in PubMed, 26 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Speed and quality of interbody fusion in porous bioceramic AlJournal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2023
    Trial
  2. Single-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for degenerative disc disease: a retrospective, two-center comparative analysis of stand-alone cage versus cage-plate constructs.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
  3. Construct length rather than interbody spacer material is associated with reoperation after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie · 2026
    Article
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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

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Abdul Fettah BuyukTwin Cities Spine Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Ikemefuna OnyekweluTwin Cities Spine Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Christian J GaffneyTwin Cities Spine Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Amir A MehbodTwin Cities Spine Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
John M DawsonTwin Cities Spine Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Timothy A GarveyTwin Cities Spine Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Benjamin MuellerTwin Cities Spine Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
James D SchwenderTwin Cities Spine Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Twin Cities Spine Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPolyetheretherketone (PEEK) and machined allograft interbody spacers are among devices used as fusion adjuncts in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Most results are good to excellent but some patients develop pseudarthrosis. We compared the reoperation rates for pseudarthrosis following 1- or 2-level ACDF with PEEK or allograft cages.

methodsThis was a retrospective cohort study. We reviewed patients who underwent 1- or 2-level ACDF. The rate of subsequent surgery for pseudarthrosis was calculated for cases confirmed by computerized tomography. Patient-reported outcomes were collected at post-index surgery follow-up and post-revision ACDF follow-up. Radiographic parameters were assessed at a minimum of 1-year post-op on all patients.

resultsTwo hundred and nine patients were included: 167 received allograft and 42 received PEEK. Subsidence was demonstrated in 31% of allograft and 29% of PEEK patients. There were no significant differences in clinical outcomes between allograft and PEEK groups. Clinical outcomes were not adversely affected by subsidence. Reoperation for pseudarthrosis was performed in 8% of allograft patients and 14% of PEEK patients (not statistically different). Improvement in patient-reported outcome was significantly better for patients without symptomatic post-operative pseudarthrosis.

conclusionsBoth allograft and PEEK spacers are acceptable options for ACDF surgery. Similar clinical outcomes and rates of radiographic subsidence were found. Subsidence was not a factor in clinical outcomes. Reoperation for pseudarthrosis was associated with poor outcomes. A higher incidence of revision for symptomatic pseudarthrosis occurred in the PEEK group, but this was not statistically significant.

Indexed as

allograftsAnterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF)polyetheretherketone (PEEK)pseudarthrosisreoperation

Identifiers

PMID33447669
PMCPMC7797789
OpenAlexW3100980393

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.