Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38958637›Full record

ArticleThe journal of spinal cord medicine2025

Lesion characteristics are associated with bowel, bladder, and overall independence following cervical spinal cord injury.

Wesley A Thornton, Katherine Smulligan, Kenneth A Weber, Candace Tefertiller, Mark Mañago, Mitch Sevigny, Laura Wiley, Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley, Andrew C Smith

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The journal of spinal cord medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Tissue bridges offer valuable insights into bladder and bowel outcomes in chronic cervical spinal cord injury.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
  2. 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

9 authors.

Wesley A ThorntonDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Katherine SmulliganDepartment of Orthopedics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Kenneth A WeberDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA.
Candace TefertillerCraig Hospital, Englewood, Colorado, USA.
Mark MañagoDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Mitch SevignyCraig Hospital, Englewood, Colorado, USA.
Laura WileyDepartment of Biostatistics & Informatics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Jennifer Stevens-LapsleyDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Andrew C SmithDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.

Funding

MRI-Derived Neuromuscular Signatures to Predict Surgical Response in Degenerative Cervical MyelopathyR01NS128478 · NINDS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Kenneth Arnold Weber · 2023 to 2026
$2.2M
Neuroimaging-Based Brain and Spinal Cord Biomarkers for Cervical RadiculopathyK23NS104211 · NINDS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI WEBER, KENNETH ARNOLD · 2018 to 2022
$875k
Improving mechanistic understanding of responsiveness to spinal cord stimulation after spinal cord injuryK01HD106928 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI SMITH, ANDREW CRAIG · 2022 to 2025
$508k
NICHD NIH HHS K01 HD106928NINDS NIH HHS K23 NS104211NINDS NIH HHS L30 NS108301NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS128478
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

CONTEXT/

objectiveThere is a growing global interest in quantifying spinal cord lesions and spared neural tissue using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The primary objective of this study was to assess the relationships between spinal cord lesion characteristics assessed on MRI and bowel, bladder, and overall independence following SCI.

designRetrospective, exploratory study.

participants93 individuals with cervical SCI who were enrolled in a local United States Model Systems SCI database from 2010 to 2017.

methodsClinical and MRI data were obtained for potential participants, and MRIs of eligible participants were analyzed. Explanatory variables, captured on MRIs, included intramedullary lesion length (IMLL), midsagittal ventral tissue bridge width (VTBW), midsagittal dorsal tissue bridge width (DTBW), and axial damage ratio (ADR). OUTCOME MEASURES: Bowel and bladder management scale of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and FIM total motor score.

resultsWhen accounting for all four variables, only ADR was significantly associated with bowel independence (OR = 0.970, 95% CI: 0.942-0.997, P = 0.030), and both ADR and IMLL were strongly associated with bladder independence (OR = 0.967, 95% CI: 0.936-0.999, P = 0.046 and OR = 0.948, 95% CI: 0.919-0.978, P = 0.0007, respectively). 32% of the variation in overall independence scores were explained by all four predictive variables, but only ADR was significantly associated with overall independence after accounting for all other predictive variables (

conclusionsOur results suggest that the MRI-measured extent of spinal cord lesion may be predictive of bowel, bladder, and overall independence following cervical SCI.

Indexed as

Cervical CordSpinal Cord InjuriesUrinary BladderAdultAgedCervical VertebraeFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesBladderBowelFunctional independenceMagnetic resonance imagingSpinal cord injuries

Identifiers

PMID38958637
PMCPMC12329833

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.