Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39085618›Full record

SynthesisJournal of neurology2024

Diagnostic accuracy and confounders of vagus nerve ultrasound in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-a single-center case series and pooled individual patient data meta-analysis.

Katharina J Müller, Moritz L Schmidbauer, Sonja Schönecker, Katharina Kamm, Johann O Pelz, Korbinian Holzapfel, Marianna Papadopoulou, Eleni Bakola, Georgios Tsivgoulis, Markus Naumann and 5 more

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of neurology, 2024. 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. 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

15 authors.

Katharina J Müller *Department of Neurology With Friedrich Baur Institute, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Moritz L Schmidbauer *Department of Neurology With Friedrich Baur Institute, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Sonja SchöneckerDepartment of Neurology With Friedrich Baur Institute, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Katharina KammDepartment of Neurology With Friedrich Baur Institute, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Johann O PelzDepartment of Neurology, Leipzig University Hospital, Leipzig, Germany.
Korbinian HolzapfelDepartment of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany.
Marianna PapadopoulouDepartment of Physiotherapy, Laboratory of Neuromuscular and Cardiovascular Study of Motion, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece.
Eleni BakolaSecond Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Attikon University Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Georgios TsivgoulisSecond Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Attikon University Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Markus NaumannDepartment of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany.
Andreas HermannDeutsches Zentrum Für Neurodegenerative, Erkrankungen Rostock/Greifswald, Rostock, Germany.
Uwe WalterDeutsches Zentrum Für Neurodegenerative, Erkrankungen Rostock/Greifswald, Rostock, Germany.
Konstantinos DimitriadisDepartment of Neurology With Friedrich Baur Institute, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Peter ReilichDepartment of Neurology With Friedrich Baur Institute, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Florian SchöberlDepartment of Neurology With Friedrich Baur Institute, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany. florian.schoeberl@med.uni-muenchen.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8183-8133

Funding

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG TRR 274Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG TRR 338
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSeveral single-center studies proposed utility of vagus nerve (VN) ultrasound for detecting disease severity, autonomic dysfunction, and bulbar phenotype in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, the resulting body of literature shows opposing results, leaving considerable uncertainty on the clinical benefits of VN ultrasound in ALS.

methodsRelevant studies were identified up to 04/2024 and individual patient data (IPD) obtained from the respective authors were pooled with a so far unpublished cohort (from Munich). An IPD meta-analysis of 109 patients with probable or definite ALS (El Escorial criteria) and available VN cross-sectional area (CSA) was performed, with age, sex, ALS Functional Rating Scale-revised (ALSFRS-R), disease duration, and bulbar phenotype as independent variables.

resultsMean age was 65 years (± 12) and 47% of patients (± 12) had bulbar ALS. Mean ALSFRS-R was 38 (± 7), and mean duration was 18 months (± 18). VN atrophy was highly prevalent [left: 67% (± 5), mean CSA 1.6mm

conclusionVN atrophy in ALS is highly prevalent and correlates with disease duration, but not with ALSFRS-R. VN CSA is insufficient to differentiate bulbar from non-bulbar ALS phenotypes. Further studies are warranted to analyze the link between VN atrophy, autonomic impairment, and survival in ALS.

Indexed as

Amyotrophic Lateral SclerosisUltrasonographyVagus NerveAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedALSAutonomic dysfunctionDisease severityIndividual patient data meta-analysisUltrasoundVagus nerve

Identifiers

PMID39085618
PMCPMC11377580

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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.