Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35855017›Full record

ArticleJournal of neurosurgery. Case lessons2021

Evaluation of tortuous vertebral arteries before cervical spine surgery: illustrative case.

J Manuel Sarmiento, Justin D Cohen, Robin M Babadjouni, Miguel D Quintero-Consuegra, Nestor R Gonzalez, Tiffany G Perry

Open access · hybridAbstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of neurosurgery. Case lessons, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 32% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The vertebral artery loops: a systematic review and meta-analysis.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. 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

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

J Manuel SarmientoDepartment of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Justin D CohenDepartment of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Robin M BabadjouniDepartment of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Miguel D Quintero-ConsuegraDepartment of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Nestor R GonzalezDepartment of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Tiffany G PerryDepartment of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCervical spine surgery sometimes necessitates complex ventral/dorsal approaches or osteotomies that place the vertebral artery (VA) at risk of inadvertent injury. Tortuosity of the VA poses increased risk of vessel injury during anterior decompression or placement of posterior instrumentation. OBSERVATIONS: In this report, the authors describe a patient with degenerative cervical spondylotic myelopathy and focal kyphotic deformity requiring corrective surgery via a combined ventral/dorsal approach. Computed tomography (CT) and CT angiography (CTA) of the spine identified a left medially enlarged C4 transverse foramen and tortuous VA V2 segment forming a potentially dangerous medial loop into the vertebral body, respectively. The patient's presentation and management are described. LESSONS: The course of the VA is variable, and a tortuous VA with significant medial or lateral displacement may be dangerous during ventral and dorsal approaches to the cervical spine. CTA of the cervical spine is warranted in cases in which atlantoaxial fixation is needed or suspicious transverse foramen morphology is identified to understand the course of the VA and identify anatomical variations that would put the VA at risk during cervical spine surgery.

Indexed as

cervical spineCTA = computed tomography angiographyCT = computed tomographyGAD+ = glutamic acid decarboxylase–positiveMRI = magnetic resonance imagingtortuousVA = vertebral arteryvertebral artery

Identifiers

PMID35855017
PMCPMC9245845
OpenAlexW3161302002

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.