Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37231434›Full record

ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2023

Is coronal imbalance in degenerative lumbar scoliosis patients associated with the number of degenerated discs? A retrospective imaging cross-sectional study.

Nanshan Ma, Xiangsheng Tang, Wenhao Li, Zhencheng Xiong, Wenhai Yan, Jiaojiao Wang, Tianwen Gu, Mingsheng Tan

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 11% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Radiographic parameter differences in degenerative scoliosis with/without degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis.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

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Nanshan Ma *Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, People's Republic of China.
Xiangsheng Tang *Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, 100029, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Wenhao LiBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, People's Republic of China.
Zhencheng XiongDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, West China Hospital, 610041, Chengdu, People's Republic of China.
Wenhai YanBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, People's Republic of China.
Jiaojiao WangBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, People's Republic of China.
Tianwen GuBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, People's Republic of China.
Mingsheng TanDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, 100029, Beijing, People's Republic of China. zrtanms@163.com.
Beijing University of Chinese Medicine · CNChina-Japan Friendship Hospital · CNWest China Hospital of Sichuan University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDegenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) is a common degenerative disease of the spine, that predominates in the elderly, and causes spinal deformities along with severe pain and reduced quality of life. The relationship between DLS and degenerated discs is now a new direction of research. Our study aimed to the relationship between the imaging parameters of coronal imbalance and the number of degenerated discs in patients with degenerative lumbar scoliosis and analyzed the segmental distribution of the degenerated discs in patients with DLS.

methodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of the imaging of 40 patients who met the inclusion criteria who attended our outpatient clinic between April 2021 and July 2021, measuring the intervertebral space height of the AV (high side and low side), Cobb angle, and AVT (Apical vertebral translation) from coronal X-ray. Degenerated discs were evaluated by the Pfirrmann score based on T2-weighted magnetic resonance images. We record the number of degenerated discs (Graded as Grade III, Grade IV or Grade V by the Pfirrmann score) and the segments in which they are located. Finally, we explore the relationship between the imaging parameters of coronal imbalance and the number of degenerated discs in patients with DLS.

resultAmong the 40 patients with DLS in our study, all patients had degenerated discs in the lumbar spine, 95% of patients had degenerated discs(Pfirrmann score Grade III, Grade IV or Grade V) in 2 or more segments, with the L4-L5 segment being the most involved segment with the most degenerated discs, followed by the L3-L4 segment and the L5-S1 segment. There was no statistically significant relationship between the number of degenerated discs and the coronal imbalance in patients with DLS.

conclusionOur results showed an association between DLS and degenerated discs, but there was no statistically significant relationship between imbalance in the coronal plane of the lumbar spine and the number of degenerated discs in patients with DLS. The distribution of degenerated disc segments in patients with DLS showed a higher likelihood of disc degeneration in 2 or more segments, and a higher frequency of disc degeneration in the inferior disc and in the adjacent segments of the AV.

Indexed as

Intervertebral DiscIntervertebral Disc DegenerationScoliosisAgedCross-Sectional StudiesHumansLumbar VertebraeMagnetic Resonance ImagingQuality of LifeRetrospective StudiesCoronal imbalanceDegenerated discDegenerative lumbar scoliosisRetrospective study

Identifiers

PMID37231434
PMCPMC10210366
OpenAlexW4378231046

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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.