Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33936985›Full record

ArticleQuantitative imaging in medicine and surgery2021

The clinical value of three-dimensional measurement in the diagnosis of thoracic myelopathy caused by ossification of the ligamentum flavum.

Chen Yan, Hao-Yuan Tan, Cheng-Long Ji, Xue-Wei Yu, Huai-Cheng Jia, Fu-Dong Li, Gui-Cheng Jiang, Wei-Shi Li, Fei-Fei Zhou, Zhen Ye and 2 more

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 15% 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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

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  5. Clinical progression of ossification of the ligamentum flavum in thoracic spine: a 10- to 11-year follow-up study.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 · 2023
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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

12 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Chen YanSecond Department of Spine Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Hao-Yuan TanSecond Department of Spine Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Cheng-Long JiSecond Department of Spine Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Xue-Wei YuSecond Department of Spine Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Huai-Cheng JiaSecond Department of Spine Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Fu-Dong LiSecond Department of Spine Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Gui-Cheng JiangSecond Department of Spine Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Wei-Shi LiDepartment of Orthopaedics, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
Fei-Fei ZhouDepartment of Orthopaedics, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
Zhen YeShanghai Electric Group Limited Liability Company Central Academe, Shanghai, China.
Jing-Chuan SunSecond Department of Spine Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Jian-Gang ShiSecond Department of Spine Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Second Military Medical University · CNPeking University · CNPeking University Third Hospital · CNShanghai Electric (China) · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) is a major cause of thoracic myelopathy, which is often accompanied by multiple segmental stenosis or other degenerative spinal diseases. However, in the above situations, it is difficult to determine the exact segment responsible. The objective of this study was to analyze three-dimensional (3D) radiological parameters in order to establish a novel diagnostic method for discriminating the responsible segment in OLF-induced thoracic myelopathy, and to evaluate its superiority compared to the conventional diagnostic methods.

methodsEighty-one patients who underwent surgery for thoracic myelopathy caused by OLF from 2016 to 2020 were enrolled in this study as the myelopathy group, and 79 patients who had thoracic OLF but displayed no definite neurological signs from 2018 to 2020 were enrolled as the non-myelopathy group. We measured the one-dimensional (1D), two-dimensional (2D), and 3D radiological parameters, calculated their optimal cutoff values, and compared their diagnostic values.

resultsSignificant differences were observed in the 1D, 2D, and 3D radiological parameters between the myelopathy and non-myelopathy groups (P<0.01). As a 3D radiological parameter, the OLF volume (OLFV) ratio (OLFV ratio = OLFV/normal canal volume × 100%) was the most accurate parameter for diagnosing OLF-induced thoracic myelopathy, with a diagnostic coincidence rate of 88.1%. We also found that an OLFV ratio of 26.3% could be used as the optimal cutoff value, with a sensitivity of 87.7% and a specificity of 88.6%. Moreover, the OLFV ratio [area under the curve (AUC): 0.92, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.86-0.95] showed a statistically higher diagnostic value than the 1D and 2D parameters (AUC: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.67-0.81; AUC: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.77-0.89, respectively) (P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis illustrated that the OLFV ratio was significantly negatively correlated with preoperative modified Japanese Orthopedic Association (mJOA) score (r=-0.73, 95% CI: -0.81 to -0.60, P<0.01).

conclusionsOur results demonstrate the superiority of the OLFV ratio over the conventional 1D and 2D computed tomography (CT)-based radiological parameters for the diagnosis of OLF-induced thoracic myelopathy. The novel diagnostic method based on the OLFV ratio will help to determine the responsible segment in multi-segmental thoracic OLF or when thoracic OLF coexists with other degenerative spinal diseases. The OLFV ratio also accurately reflects the clinical state of symptomatic patients with thoracic OLF.

Indexed as

computed tomography (CT)diagnostic imagingOssification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF)thoracic myelopathythree-dimensional image (3D image)

Identifiers

PMID33936985
PMCPMC8047373
OpenAlexW3134925595

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.