ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2023
Assessing lumbar vertebral bone quality: a methodological evaluation of CT and MRI as alternatives to traditional DEXA.
Article 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 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Opportunistic assessment of bone mineral density using computed tomography in pediatric liver transplant recipients.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- Development and internal validation of a clinical-radiological nomogram for osteoporosis screening: A cohort retrospective study.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 · 2025Article
- Letter to the editor concerning "assessing lumbar vertebral bone quality: a methodological evaluation of CT and MRI as alternatives to traditional DEXA" by courtois, E.C., et al. (Eur spine J [2023]: doi: 10.1007/s00586-023-07855-6).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 · 2025Article
- Emerging MRI-based spine scoring techniques targeting bone quality to assess osteoporosis, vertebral fracture risk, other spinal degenerative diseases, and post-surgical outcomes.La Radiologia medica · 2025Review
- Article
- Can Preoperative Hounsfield Unit Measurement Help Predict Mechanical Failure in Metastatic Spinal Tumor Surgery?Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Low bone mineral density: a primer for the spine surgeon.Spine deformity · 2024Review
- Systematic evaluation of vertebral bone quality score as an opportunistic screening method for BMD in spine surgery patients.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
- Vertebral and Femoral Bone Mineral Density (BMD) Assessment with Dual-Energy CT versus DXA Scan in Postmenopausal Females.Journal of imaging · 2024Article
- Utility of MRI-based vertebral bone quality scores and CT-based Hounsfield unit values in vertebral bone mineral density assessment for patients with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 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
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of various methods on the assessment of vertebral bone quality.
methodsA consecutive series of 427 candidates for lumbar disc replacement with lumbar DEXA and MRI and/or CT scans were included. Two measurement techniques were used on CTs-a sagittal and axial. From axial images, the upper, mid, and lower portions of each vertebral body were measured. Four MRI vertebral bone quality (VBQ) calculations were generated using separate equations.
resultsAll CT measures were highly correlated with each other, regardless of measurement or calculation method (range 0.925-0.995). Sagittal measurements were highly correlated with axial (r = 0.928, p < 0.001). CT values were correlated with DEXA (range 0.446-0.534). There was no benefit to measuring multiple axial images of each vertebral body vs. just midbody (r = 0.441 and 0.455, respectively). No MRI VBQ values were highly correlated with DEXA (r = - 0.103, p = 0.045). In receiver operating curve analysis, the area under the curve ranged from 0.539 to 0.558, indicating poor ability of VBQ to identify osteoporosis/osteopenia.
conclusionCT produced values more closely related to DEXA, while MRI was less reliable for osteoporosis/osteopenia screening. On CT, there was no benefit to making multiple measurements for each vertebral body to calculate a composite. Measuring sagittal CT images produced values similar to axial and required less time. While assessing bone quality from existing images rather than getting an additional DEXA scan is appealing, the methods of measuring these images needs standardization to maximize their utility.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.