SynthesisEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2023
Is unilateral pedicle screw fixation as effective as bilateral pedicle screw fixation in transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in 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. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Spine-specific robots may offer superior screw placement accuracy in spinal surgery procedures. A systematic review and network and proportional meta-analysis.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Pooled it
- Clinical efficacy and quality of life in elderly patients with lumbar degenerative disease treated with TLIF combined with unilateral pedicle screw fixation: a randomized controlled study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Trial
- Unilateral uniportal endoscopy with unilateral fixation for lumbar degenerative diseases: A retrospective observational study and technical note.The Journal of international medical research · 2026Observational
- Oblique lumbar interbody fusion with unilateral pedicle screw fixation in a single lateral position for degenerative lumbar diseases.BMC surgery · 2026Article
- Unilateral versus bilateral pedicle screw fixation for treating two-level lumbar degenerative diseases.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Finite element analysis of pedicle screw fixation biomechanics and adjacent segment degeneration in varied bone conditions.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Can unilateral-transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion replace the traditional transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion procedure for lumbar degenerative disc diseases?: a single center matched case-control mid-term outcome study.Asian spine journal · 2024Article
- Innovative 3D Navigation Module for Precise Unilateral Pedicle Screw Combined with Contralateral Translaminar Facet Screw Placement in Lumbar Spine Surgery.Orthopaedic surgery · 2024Article
- Unilateral versus bilateral pedicle screw fixation with anterior lumbar interbody fusion: a comparison of postoperative 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 · 2024Article
- Quantitative relationships between elastic modulus of rod and biomechanical properties of transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: a finite element analysis.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThis meta-analysis aimed to investigate whether unilateral pedicle screw fixation (UPSF) is comparable to bilateral pedicle screw fixation (BPSF) in transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) for lumbar degenerative diseases.
methodsUp to September 2022, established electronic literature databases including PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English that compared the efficacy of UPSF versus BPSF in TLIF were included. The methodological quality was evaluated, relevant data was extracted, and suitable meta-analysis was carried out. Data of fusion rate, complications, cage migration, visual analog scale (VAS), and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), total blood loss (TBL), operation time, and hospital stay were extracted and analyzed. Pooled mean differences and risk ratio (RR) along with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated for the results.
resultsTen RCTs including 614 patients (UPSF = 294, BPSF = 320) were included in our meta-analysis. There were no significant differences in terms of fusion rate, VAS (VAS-BP and VAS-LP), ODI, complications, or hospital stay between UPSF and BPSF groups (P > 0.05, respectively). The UPSF group clearly had the advantage of less blood loss (SMD = -2.99, 95% CI [-4.54, -1.45], P = 0.0001) and operation time (SMD = -2.05, 95% CI [-3.10, -1.00], P = 0.0001). However, UPSF increased cage migration more than BPSF (10.7% vs 4.8%, RR = 2.23, 95% CI [1.07, 4.65], P = 0.03).
conclusionAccording to the findings of this meta-analysis, UPSF is just as effective as BPSF in TLIF and may reduce blood loss and operation time. Nevertheless, UPSF may result in more cage migration than BPSF.
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Registered trials
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.