ArticleInternational journal of spine surgery2025
Predictive Value of MRI-Based Vertebral Bone and Endplate Bone Quality Assessments for Screw Loosening and Cage Subsidence in Degenerative Thoracolumbar Spine Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Article in International journal of spine surgery, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Magnetic resonance imaging-derived vertebral bone quality correlates with computed tomography-derived bone density and paraspinal muscle degeneration: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Asian spine journal · 2026Article
- Sarcopenia, paraspinal muscle degeneration, and bone quality as prognostic factors for adjacent segment degeneration or disease after lumbar fusion: a systematic review and meta-analysis.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 · 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
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThoracolumbar spine surgical interventions are often complicated by cage subsidence and screw loosening. The main risk factor for such conditions is poor bone mineral density. Vertebral bone quality (VBQ) and endplate bone quality (EBQ) scores are novel radiation-free magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based tools that have shown promise in predicting such conditions. This meta-analysis sought to assess the predictive value of VBQ and EBQ scores in identifying the risk of screw loosening and cage subsidence following thoracolumbar spine surgery.
methodsPubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched systematically to retrieve articles assessing the predictive potential of VBQ and EBQ scores for evaluating screw loosening and cage subsidence following thoracolumbar spine surgery. The quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies 2 (QUADAS-2) tool was utilized to assess the quality of diagnostic accuracy studies. Data were synthesized using a random-effects model, assessing for potential heterogeneity among the included studies.
results19 studies involving 2768 participants met the inclusion criteria. The cage subsidence and screw loosening groups showed significantly higher VBQ scores than the control group. The cage subsidence group showed significantly higher EBQ scores than the control group.
conclusionsMRI-based VBQ and EBQ scores demonstrate efficacy as predictive indicators of screw loosening and cage subsidence following surgical procedures for thoracolumbar degenerative disease. Consequently, preoperative assessment of bone quality is imperative for optimizing surgical outcomes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1:
Indexed as
Identifiers
What 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.