Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33942525›Full record

SynthesisOrthopaedic surgery2021

Imaging Evaluation of Fat Infiltration in Paraspinal Muscles on MRI: A Systematic Review with a Focus on Methodology.

Gengyu Han, Yu Jiang, Bo Zhang, Chunjie Gong, Weishi Li

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Orthopaedic surgery, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
30citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
6.0field-weighted citation impact, top 3% 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

30 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. The predictive value of preoperative paraspinal muscle morphometry on complications after lumbar surgery: a systematic review.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 · 2022
    Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Paraspinal muscle MRI radiomics outperform disc radiomics for predicting poor disability improvement after L4/5 single-level lumbar surgery.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
  8. Pathogenic mechanisms of adult degenerative scoliosis.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026
    Review
  9. Article
  10. Comparative analysis of the correlation between paraspinal muscles fat infiltration and vertebral bone quality in patients with lumbar degenerative diseases.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 · 2025
    Article
  11. Clinical value of fat depositions in different lumbar areas on spine degeneration and clinical 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 · 2025
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Preoperative fatty infiltration of paraspinal muscles assessed by MRI is associated with less improvement of leg pain 2 years after surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis.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 · 2024
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Inter-software and inter-threshold reliability of quantitative paraspinal muscle segmentation.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 · 2024
    Article
  19. Article
  20. 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

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Gengyu Han *Third Hospital Orthopaedics Department, Beijing Key Laboratory of Spinal Disease Research, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Yu Jiang *Third Hospital Orthopaedics Department, Beijing Key Laboratory of Spinal Disease Research, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Bo ZhangPeking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
Chunjie GongPeking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
Weishi LiThird Hospital Orthopaedics Department, Beijing Key Laboratory of Spinal Disease Research, Peking University, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9512-5436
Peking University · CN

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 51804012
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeNumerous studies have applied a variety of methods to assess paraspinal muscle degeneration. However, the methodological differences in imaging evaluation may lead to imprecise or inconsistent results. This article aimed to provide a pragmatic summary review of the current imaging modalities, measurement protocols, and imaging parameters in the evaluation of paraspinal muscle fat infiltration (FI) in MRI studies.

methodsWeb of Science, EMBASE, and PubMed were searched from January 2005 to March 2020 to identify studies that examined the FI of paraspinal muscles on MRI among patients with lumbar degenerative diseases.

resultsIntramyocellular lipids measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy and FI measured by chemical-shift MRI were both correlated to low back pain and several degenerative lumbar diseases, whereas results on the relationship between FI and degenerative lumbar pathologies using conventional MRI were conflicting. Multi-segment measurement of FI at the lesion segment and adjacent segments could be a prognostic indicator for lumbar surgery. Most studies adopted the center of the intervertebral disc or endplate as the level of slice to evaluate the FI. Compared with visual semiquantitative assessment, quantitative parameters appeared to be precise for eliminating individual or modality differences. It has been demonstrated that fat CSA/total CSA (based on area) and muscle-fat index (based on signal intensity) as quantitative FI parameters are associated with multiple lumbar diseases and clinical outcomes after surgery.

conclusionHaving a good command of the methodology of paraspinal muscle FI on MRI was effective for diagnosis and prognosis in clinical practice.

Indexed as

Adipose TissueHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingParaspinal MusclesSpinal DiseasesDegenerationFat infiltrationImaging evaluationIntroductionMagnetic resonance imagingMethodology

Identifiers

PMID33942525
PMCPMC8274185
OpenAlexW3159479442

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.