SynthesisNeurosurgical review2025
Management of dropped head syndrome: a systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Neurosurgical review, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Medically Managed Dropped Head Syndrome: Outcomes in Isolated Neck Extensor Myopathy and Primary Hyperparathyroidism-related Myopathy.Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) · 2026Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Dropped Head Syndrome (DHS) is a rare condition marked by severe neck extensor muscle weakness, leading to a chin-on-chest deformity caused by pathological kyphosis. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of conservative versus surgical treatments for DHS. A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and ScienceDirect was conducted for studies on DHS treatments. Outcomes included total/partial improvement, success, and failure rates. Statistical analyses were performed using R software and the "meta" package. We identified 1,252 articles, with 19 studies and 472 patients included. Of these, 134 (28.4%) underwent surgery and 338 (71.6%) received conservative treatment. Partial improvement after conservative treatment was 59% (95% CI 32.76-83.03%; I² = 78%), with total improvement at 4.45% (95% CI 0.01-13.21%; I² = 84%). Success rates were 6.73% (95% CI 0.74-16.16%; I² = 82%), and failure was 100% (95% CI 99.28-100%; I² = 78%). For surgical treatment, total improvement was 100% (95% CI 99.57-100%; I² = 18%), and success was also 100% (95% CI 98.37-100%; I² = 0%), with low heterogeneity. Only two surgical patients failed (95% CI 0.00-1.63%; I² = 0%). Conservative treatment was ineffective in achieving functional recovery and horizontal gaze. Surgical treatment is the preferred option for treating DHS and should be considered a disease-modifying therapy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
40045032What 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.