ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2025
Readability of online patient education materials for cervical disc replacement.
Article in 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. 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.
- Readability of Online Patient Education Materials for Endoscopic Spine Surgery.Spine surgery and related research · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposePatients frequently utilize internet-based resources to seek information. Cervical disc replacement (CDR) is extensively marketed on the internet and patients may research their condition in preference to a fusion. Previous literature has recommended that the readability of patient education materials (PEM) should not exceed the 6th-grade(11-12 years old) United States reading level to optimize health literacy. This study aims to evaluate the readability of online patient education materials concerning cervical disc replacement.
methodsA Google search query was performed on March 1st, 2025 using the term" Cervical Disc Replacement patient information." The first 25 websites meeting study inclusion criteria were analyzed for readability using Flesch-Kincaid, average reading level consensus, Gunning Fog, Coleman-Liau, SMOG, and Linsear Write indices. Descriptive statistics were reported.
resultsThe mean of the average reading levels by Flesch-Kincaid was 11.5 (1.29). The mean Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease score was 48.8 (8.12). The mean Gunning Fog Score was 12.9 (1.39), Flesch Kincaid grade level 10.6 (1.69), Coleman Liau 12.4 (1.48), SMOG 10.5 (1.3), Automated Readability Index 11.5 (2.12), Linear Write 69.4 (6.62). Zero PEMs were at or below the recommended sixth grade(11-12 years old) United States reading level. Four of the PEMs were considered general health information(GHI), twenty-one were considered clinical practice(CP). No differences were found between CP and GHI websites (P > 0.05).
conclusionCreating appropriate patient education materials is integral to achieving optimal health literacy. The current readability of the most accessible PEMs related to CDR is inadequate. As it stands, many patients may not appropriately comprehend the description of their anticipated surgery.
Indexed as
Identifiers
40410362What 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.