Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37731268›Full record

ReviewGlobal spine journal2024

The Prevalence of Asymptomatic Cervical Spinal Cord Compression in Individuals Presenting With Symptomatic Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Meta-Analysis.

Farzin Farahbakhsh, Sepehr Khosravi, Vali Baigi, Masoud Pourghahramani Koltapeh, Amirmahdi Khayyamfar, Zahra Eskandari, Zahra Ghodsi, James Harrop, Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Global spine journal, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
3.5field-weighted citation impact, top 7% 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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
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

9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Farzin FarahbakhshSina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.ORCID 0000-0003-4435-9034
Sepehr KhosraviSina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.ORCID 0000-0002-5372-0787
Vali BaigiSina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.ORCID 0000-0003-1882-7340
Masoud Pourghahramani KoltapehSina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.ORCID 0000-0001-8066-5739
Amirmahdi KhayyamfarSina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.ORCID 0000-0001-9117-8207
Zahra EskandariDepartment of Management, Faculty of Social Sciences and Economics, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.ORCID 0000-0002-9278-4193
Zahra GhodsiSina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.ORCID 0000-0001-8662-2342
James HarropDivision of Spine and Peripheral Nerve Surgery, Departments of Neurological and Orthopedic Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Vafa Rahimi-MovagharSina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.ORCID 0000-0001-7347-8767
Tehran University of Medical Sciences · IRAlzahra University · IRThomas Jefferson University · USUniversity of Tehran · IR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

designSystematic review and meta-analysis.

objectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic cervical spinal cord compression (CSCC) in individuals with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).

methodsA systematic electronic search was conducted in Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science without language restriction, with no starting date limit to June 8, 2023, to define the prevalence of asymptomatic CSCC in symptomatic LSS patients. Asymptomatic CSCC was defined based on radiographic studies. All types of studies were included in the review. Meta-analysis was performed on the reported prevalence of asymptomatic CSCC in LSS.

resultsThe database search yielded 10,272 articles. After a full-text review, five studies were included in the final review, comprising a total of 1043 cases. Two studies had a low risk for bias, two moderate, and one estimated to be high risk. The range of prevalence of asymptomatic CSCC in LSS in the five included studies was between 24% and 61%. Meta-analysis on the reported prevalence of asymptomatic CSCC patients with symptomatic LSS demonstrated that the random pooled prevalence was 35% (95% CI: 23 to 48).

conclusionsAsymptomatic CSCC appears to occur in a high number of patients, with this study noting its presence in one-third of patients with LSS. Based on these findings, we strongly recommend that spine surgeons exercise particular caution during the positioning of patients who are undergoing surgery for lumbar stenosis. Furthermore, it is imperative to monitor individuals with symptomatic LSS closely for any potential signs of emerging myelopathy.

Indexed as

asymptomaticlumbar canal stenosismagnetic resonance imagingspinal cord compressionsystematic reviewtandem spinal stenosis

Identifiers

PMID37731268
PMCPMC11192137
OpenAlexW4386910942

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.