Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35610543›Full record

ArticleSpine deformity2022

Vertebral body tethering compared to posterior spinal fusion for skeletally immature adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients: preliminary results from a matched case-control study.

Smitha E Mathew, J Blade Hargiss, Todd A Milbrandt, Anthony A Stans, William J Shaughnessy, A Noelle Larson

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Spine deformity, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
26citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
7.4field-weighted citation impact, top 2% 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

26 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Can anterior vertebral body tethering provide superior range of motion outcomes compared to posterior spinal fusion in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis? 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 · 2023
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  10. Does screw alignment affect tether breakage in vertebral body tethering?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
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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

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Smitha E MathewDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
J Blade HargissMayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA.
Todd A MilbrandtDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
Anthony A StansDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
William J ShaughnessyDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
A Noelle LarsonDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA. larson.noelle@mayo.edu.ORCID 0000-0001-6542-6975
Mayo Clinic · USMayo Clinic in Arizona · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeDirect comparisons between vertebral body tethering (VBT) and posterior spinal fusion (PSF) for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) are limited. We aimed to evaluate 2-year results of VBT and PSF to report comparative outcomes.

methods26 prospectively enrolled VBT patients were matched 1:1 by age, gender, Risser sign and major curve magnitude with PSF patients. At a minimum 2-year follow-up, surgical results and radiographic outcomes were reviewed.

resultsOperative time, anesthesia time, blood loss, and length of stay were significantly lower in the VBT group (< 0.001, p = 0.003, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). The major curve at 2 years was corrected by 46% in the VBT group vs. 66% in the PSF (p = 0.0004). Success following VBT, defined as no fusion surgery and Cobb angle < 35° at the 2-year follow-up, was seen in 20 VBT patients (77%) (p = 0.0003) and correlated with mean Cobb angle of < 35° on 3-month imaging. 12 VBT patients (46%) showed curve improvement over time, and those patients had significantly lower mean Cobb angle on the 3-month radiograph than non-modulators (23° vs 31°, p = 0.014). At 2 years, cord breakage occurred in five patients (19%). By 2 years, three VBT patients developed complications (2 pleural effusion and 1 overcorrection needing return to OR). In contrast to PSF, growth continued at T1-T12 (mean 13 mm) and over the instrumented levels (mean 10 mm) following VBT, compared to no growth over instrumented segments in the fusion cohort (p = 0.011, p = 0.0001).

conclusionIn Sanders stages 3 and 4 patients treated in the USA, Cobb angle < 35° on 3-month imaging was associated with success at the 2-year follow-up. Curve correction was superior in the PSF group with 96% achieving curve correction to < 35° vs. 77% of the VBT patients. Cord breakage was noted in 19% of VBT patients at the 2-year follow-up. Three patients developed complications in both the VBT and PSF cohorts. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II (prospective study with matched retrospective comparison group).

Indexed as

KyphosisScoliosisSpinal FusionAdolescentCase-Control StudiesHumansProspective StudiesRetrospective StudiesThoracic VertebraeTreatment OutcomeVertebral BodyAdolescentAnterior spinal instrumentationGrowthIdiopathicModulationOutcomesPosterior fusionScoliosisSpine deformity

Identifiers

PMID35610543
OpenAlexW4281387782

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.