Longitudinal assessment of annular fissures of the cervical spine: overlooked and static.

Meisam Hoseinyazdi, Shadi Asadollahi, Rodrigo Luna, Faranak Rafiee, Gary Gong, David M Yousem

Open access · goldAbstract read

In one paragraph

Article in North American Spine Society journal, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 32% 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

0 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Meisam HoseinyazdiRussell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins Medical Institution, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps B-100, Baltimore, MD 21287.

Shadi AsadollahiRussell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins Medical Institution, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps B-100, Baltimore, MD 21287.

Rodrigo LunaRussell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins Medical Institution, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps B-100, Baltimore, MD 21287.

Faranak RafieeDepartment of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street Boston, Boston MA.

Gary GongRussell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins Medical Institution, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps B-100, Baltimore, MD 21287.

David M YousemRussell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins Medical Institution, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps B-100, Baltimore, MD 21287.

Johns Hopkins University · USMassachusetts General Hospital · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Cervical annular fissures (AFs) have not been studied specifically as to their prevalence, imaging features, and persistence over time. We sought to determine the prevalence and natural history of cervical AFs. We hypothesized that these are static lesions that are not prevalent in the population. Methods: This was a cross-sectional retrospective study of cervical MRI examinations performed between 2011-2021. We retrospectively reviewed the studies of 115 consecutive patients (63 female, 52 male) who had 2 or more MRI studies of the cervical spine to identify (1) imaging features of cervical AFs on various pulse sequences, (2) the concurrence of disc bulges/herniations, (3) changes in those imaging findings over time (mean follow-up 39.3 months) and (4) rate at which cervical AFs were mentioned in radiology reports. 620 initial and follow-up studies were reviewed. Results: 50/115 (43.5%) patients had cervical AFs; 21 patients had a single AF and 29 patients had multi-level AFs (total 109 AFs). The most common levels affected were C4-C5 (28%, n = 31) and C5-C6 (27%, n = 30). All cervical AFs were hyperintense on T2WI and, over time, 95% (n = 104/109) of the AFs remained hyperintense; 22% (n = 25) showed less hyperintensity, 10% (n = 11) more hyperintensity, and 60% (n = 66) the same hyperintensity. 5 AFs (4%) resolved completely. Only 2 (8%) of 25 cervical AFs enhanced with gadolinium. The rate of concomitant disc bulges and herniations was 71% (n = 78) and 22% (n = 24) respectively. The presence of cervical AFs did not increase the risk of progression to bulges or herniations. None of the cervical AFs were mentioned in the radiology reports. Conclusions: Cervical AFs occurred in 43.5% of patients but were rarely reported. They usually remained bright on T2W but their brightness could vary over time. Cervical AFs were often associated with disc bulges/herniations and enhanced less frequently (8%) than lumbar disk AFs.

Indexed as

Annular fissureBulgeCervical spineDegenerative disc diseaseHerniationIntervertebral discMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Identifiers

PMID37457394

DOI10.1016/j.xnsj.2023.100238

PMCPMC10345478

OpenAlexW4381611363

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY-NC-ND

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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.