Assessing accuracy of measurement methods for bony fusion assessment after anterior cervical discectomy.

Autor: de Vries FE; Department of Neurosurgery, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Albinusdreef 2, ZA 2333, Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Neurosurgery, Computational Neuroscience Outcomes Center at Harvard, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis St, Boston MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: f.e.de_vries@lumc.nl., Mesina-Estarrón I; Department of Neurosurgery, Computational Neuroscience Outcomes Center at Harvard, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis St, Boston MA 02115, USA; Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St, Boston MA 02115, USA., Gerstl JVE; Department of Neurosurgery, Computational Neuroscience Outcomes Center at Harvard, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis St, Boston MA 02115, USA; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, Boston MA 02115, USA., Mekary RA; Department of Neurosurgery, Computational Neuroscience Outcomes Center at Harvard, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis St, Boston MA 02115, USA; Department of Pharmaceutical Business and Administrative Sciences, School of Pharmacy, MCPHS University, 179 Longwood Ave, Boston MA 02115, USA., Vleggeert-Lankamp CLA; Department of Neurosurgery, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Albinusdreef 2, ZA 2333, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society [Spine J] 2024 Nov; Vol. 24 (11), pp. 2035-2044. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 13.
DOI: 10.1016/j.spinee.2024.06.008
Abstrakt: Background Context: Currently, there is no universally accepted method for assessing radiological fusion shortly after anterior cervical discectomy. Five-year follow-up radiological X-rays demonstrating solid fusion or absence of fusion provided a gold standard for comparison with various assessment methods.
Purpose: Establishing the most accurate diagnostic test for earlier bony fusion assessment by comparing different cut-off values for the difference in interspinous distance and the change in Cobb angle on dynamic radiological images against the established gold standard.
Design: Posthoc analysis from the NEtherlands Cervical Kinematics (NECK) trial (NTR1289).
Patient Sample: A total of 40 patients with 1 level herniated disc that underwent anterior discectomy between 2010 and 2014 returned for a 5-year follow-up X-ray.
Outcome Measures: Radiological outcome was assessed quantitatively and qualitatively by fusion on radiographic images 5 years after surgery.
Methods: Radiological dynamic X-rays were reviewed for fusion at 5-year follow-up by a senior spine surgeon. At this timepoint, bony continuity was indisputable and served as gold standard. Cobb angles and interspinous distances on flexion-extension images were measured independently by 2 investigators. Optimum agreement between the gold standard and the 2 methods was assessed, evaluating varying cut-off values, considering sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC).
Results: Dynamic radiographic assessments revealed fusion in 29 out of 40 patients (mean age: 49 years ± 8; 23 women). For Cobb angle (optimal cut-off: ≤3.0°), the AUC was 0.86 with 100% sensitivity and 72.7% specificity. For interspinous distance (optimal cut-off: ≤1.5 mm), the AUC was 0.89 with 96.6% sensitivity and 81.8% specificity. The highest AUC (0.91) was observed for combined cut-off values (Cobb angle ≤3.0° and interspinous distance ≤2.0 mm), yielding 100% sensitivity and 81.8% specificity.
Conclusion: The combination of cut-off values ≤3.0° difference for Cobb angle and ≤2.0 mm difference for interspinous distance on lateral flexion-extension X-rays was assessed to be an accurate diagnostic criterion for fusion evaluation. This tool provides a practical and easy applicable method for assessing fusion during follow-up after anterior discectomy.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest One or more of the authors declare financial or professional relationships on ICMJE-TSJ disclosure forms.
(Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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