Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36831844›Full record

ReviewBrain sciences2023

Correlation between "Snake-Eyes" Sign and Role of Surgery with a Focus on Postoperative Outcome: A Systematic Review.

Gianluca Scalia, Roberta Costanzo, Lara Brunasso, Giada Garufi, Lapo Bonosi, Giuseppe Ricciardo, Francesca Graziano, Giovanni Federico Nicoletti, Salvatore Massimiliano Cardali, Domenico Gerardo Iacopino and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Brain sciences, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 13% 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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Reply to the Letter to the Editor of M. Zhang, et al. concerning "Surgical strategies and outcomes in degenerative myelopathy at the cervico-thoracic junction: a multicenter retrospective analysis" by Umana GE, et al. (Eur Spine J [2025]: doi:10.1007/s00586-025-09139-7).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
  3. Surgical strategies and outcomes in degenerative myelopathy at the cervico-thoracic junction: a multicenter retrospective 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 · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
  5. 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

12 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Gianluca ScaliaNeurosurgery Unit, Head and Neck Surgery Department, Garibaldi Hospital, 95123 Catania, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-9465-2506
Roberta CostanzoNeurosurgical Clinic, AOUP "Paolo Giaccone", Post Graduate Residency Program in Neurologic Surgery, Department of Biomedicine Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, School of Medicine, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-3215-7179
Lara BrunassoNeurosurgical Clinic, AOUP "Paolo Giaccone", Post Graduate Residency Program in Neurologic Surgery, Department of Biomedicine Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, School of Medicine, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-3149-3314
Giada GarufiDepartment of Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Lapo BonosiNeurosurgical Clinic, AOUP "Paolo Giaccone", Post Graduate Residency Program in Neurologic Surgery, Department of Biomedicine Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, School of Medicine, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.
Giuseppe RicciardoDepartment of Neurosurgery, Azienda Ospedaliera Papardo, University of Messina, 98158 Messina, Italy.
Francesca GrazianoNeurosurgery Unit, Head and Neck Surgery Department, Garibaldi Hospital, 95123 Catania, Italy.
Giovanni Federico NicolettiNeurosurgery Unit, Head and Neck Surgery Department, Garibaldi Hospital, 95123 Catania, Italy.
Salvatore Massimiliano CardaliDepartment of Neurosurgery, Azienda Ospedaliera Papardo, University of Messina, 98158 Messina, Italy.
Domenico Gerardo IacopinoNeurosurgical Clinic, AOUP "Paolo Giaccone", Post Graduate Residency Program in Neurologic Surgery, Department of Biomedicine Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, School of Medicine, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.
Rosario MaugeriNeurosurgical Clinic, AOUP "Paolo Giaccone", Post Graduate Residency Program in Neurologic Surgery, Department of Biomedicine Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, School of Medicine, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.
Giuseppe Emmanuele UmanaCannizzaro Hospital, Trauma Center, Gamma Knife Center, 95125 Catania, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-1573-431X
University of Palermo · ITOspedale Garibaldi · ITUniversity of Messina · ITOspedale Cannizzaro · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

(1) Background: The "snake-eyes" sign represents a unique finding characterized by bilateral hyperintense symmetric, circular, or ovoid foci on T2-weighted MRI sequences in the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord. There are conflicting opinions as some authors affirm that it does not affect the prognosis of cervical myelopathy while other papers emphasize the opposite, stating how the "snake-eyes" sign constitutes an irreversible lesion and a predictor of poor prognosis. This systematic review evaluates the correlation between the "snake-eyes" sign and the prognosis of cervical myelopathy after surgery including anterior and/or posterior approaches; (2) Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA statement and a total of seven papers were included; (3) Results: A total of 419 patients were evaluated, with a mean age of 55.72 ± 14.38 years. After surgery, 26.01% of patients experienced a significant clinical improvement, while in 61.81%, there was no significant improvement. In particular, 144 of 196 patients (73.5%) treated through an anterior approach and 114 of 223 (51.1%) that underwent a posterior approach, did not present a significant improvement. Furthermore, in 12.17% of patients, the postoperative outcome was not reported, leading to a high risk of bias in the assessment of the prognostic significance of the "snake-eyes" appearance; (4) Conclusions: The "snake-eyes" sign is usually considered as an unfavorable predictive marker for myelopathic surgical patients, but the pathophysiology is still unclear, and the results have not yet reached unified levels of evidence.

Indexed as

cervicalcobra-eyesmyelopathyoutcomespinesurgery

Identifiers

PMID36831844
PMCPMC9954568
OpenAlexW4319964822

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.