Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35986731›Full record

ArticleJournal of neurosurgery. Spine2023

Effect of surgical experience and spine subspecialty on the reliability of the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System.

Mark J Lambrechts, Gregory D Schroeder, Brian A Karamian, Jose A Canseco, F Cumhur Oner, Lorin M Benneker, Richard J Bransford, Frank Kandziora, Shanmuganathan Rajasekaran, Mohammad El-Sharkawi and 7 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of neurosurgery. Spine, 2023. 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
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

  1. Validation of the AO Spine Osteoporotic Fracture Classification-effect of geographical region on reliability and reproducibility.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2026
    Article
  2. Traumatic bilateral cervical facet dislocation:a comprehensive review and evidence-based treatment algorithm.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
    Review
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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

17 authors.

Mark J Lambrechts1Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Gregory D Schroeder1Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Brian A Karamian1Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Jose A Canseco1Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
F Cumhur Oner2Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University Medical Center, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Lorin M Benneker3Sonnenhofspital Bern, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Richard J Bransford4Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Frank Kandziora5Unfallklinik Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany.
Shanmuganathan Rajasekaran6Department of Orthopedics and Spine Surgery, Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore, India.
Mohammad El-Sharkawi7Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
Rishi Kanna6Department of Orthopedics and Spine Surgery, Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore, India.
Andrei Fernandes Joaquim8Department of Neurology, Neurosurgery Division, State University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
Klaus Schnake9Center for Spinal and Scoliosis Surgery, Malteser Waldkrankenhaus St. Marien, Erlangen, Germany; and.
Christopher K Kepler1Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Alexander R Vaccaro1Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification International Members
AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification International Members

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe objective of this paper was to determine the interobserver reliability and intraobserver reproducibility of the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System based on surgeon experience (< 5 years, 5-10 years, 10-20 years, and > 20 years) and surgical subspecialty (orthopedic spine surgery, neurosurgery, and "other" surgery).

methodsA total of 11,601 assessments of upper cervical spine injuries were evaluated based on the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System. Reliability and reproducibility scores were obtained twice, with a 3-week time interval. Descriptive statistics were utilized to examine the percentage of accurately classified injuries, and Pearson's chi-square or Fisher's exact test was used to screen for potentially relevant differences between study participants. Kappa coefficients (κ) determined the interobserver reliability and intraobserver reproducibility.

resultsThe intraobserver reproducibility was substantial for surgeon experience level (< 5 years: 0.74 vs 5-10 years: 0.69 vs 10-20 years: 0.69 vs > 20 years: 0.70) and surgical subspecialty (orthopedic spine: 0.71 vs neurosurgery: 0.69 vs other: 0.68). Furthermore, the interobserver reliability was substantial for all surgical experience groups on assessment 1 (< 5 years: 0.67 vs 5-10 years: 0.62 vs 10-20 years: 0.61 vs > 20 years: 0.62), and only surgeons with > 20 years of experience did not have substantial reliability on assessment 2 (< 5 years: 0.62 vs 5-10 years: 0.61 vs 10-20 years: 0.61 vs > 20 years: 0.59). Orthopedic spine surgeons and neurosurgeons had substantial intraobserver reproducibility on both assessment 1 (0.64 vs 0.63) and assessment 2 (0.62 vs 0.63), while other surgeons had moderate reliability on assessment 1 (0.43) and fair reliability on assessment 2 (0.36).

conclusionsThe international reliability and reproducibility scores for the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System demonstrated substantial intraobserver reproducibility and interobserver reliability regardless of surgical experience and spine subspecialty. These results support the global application of this classification system.

Indexed as

Spinal InjuriesSurgeonsCervical VertebraeHumansObserver VariationReproducibility of ResultsAO Spineneurosurgeonorthopedic spine surgeonreliabilityreproducibilitytraumaupper cervical spine

Identifiers

PMID35986731
PMCPMC10193484

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.