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. 2007 Dec;16(12):2126-32.
doi: 10.1007/s00586-007-0474-z. Epub 2007 Oct 3.

Radiographic measurement of the sagittal plane deformity in patients with osteoporotic spinal fractures evaluation of intrinsic error

Ahmet Alanay  1 , Murat Pekmezci, Oguz Karaeminogullari, Emre Acaroglu, Muharrem Yazici, Akin Cil, Bas Pijnenburg, Yasemin Genç, Fethullah C Oner
Affiliations

Radiographic measurement of the sagittal plane deformity in patients with osteoporotic spinal fractures evaluation of intrinsic error

Ahmet Alanay et al. Eur Spine J. 2007 Dec.

Abstract

Cobb method has been shown to be the most reliable technique with a reasonable measurement error to determine the kyphosis in fresh fractures of young patients. However, measurement errors may be higher for elderly patients as it may be difficult to determine the landmarks due to osteopenia and the degenerative changes. The aim of this study is to investigate the intrinsic error for different techniques used in evaluation of local sagittal plane deformity caused by OVCF. Lateral X-rays of OVCF patients were randomly selected. Patient group was composed of 28 females and 7 males and the mean age was 62.7 (55-75) years. The kyphosis angle and the vertebral body height were analyzed to reveal the severity of sagittal plane deformity. Kyphotic deformity was measured by using four different techniques; and the vertebral body heights (VBH) were measured at three different points. The mean intra-observer agreement interval for kyphosis angle measurement techniques ranged from +/-7.1 to +/-9.3 degrees while it ranged from +/-4.5 to +/-6.5 mm for VBH measurement techniques. The mean interobserver agreement interval for kyphosis angle ranged from +/-8.2 to +/-11.1 degrees , while it was between +/-4.5 to +/-6.5 mm for vertebral body height measurement techniques. This study revealed that although the intra and interobserver agreement were similar for all techniques, they are still higher than expected. These high intervals for measurement errors should be taken into account when interpreting the results of correction in local sagittal plane deformities of OVCF patients after surgical procedures such as vertebral augmentation techniques.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The measurement techniques that were used to evaluate the magnitude of the kyphotic deformity, measuring the angle between the superior and the inferior endplates of the fractured vertebral body (FVB) a, measuring the angle between the inferior endplate of the vertebral body just above the fracture and the inferior endplate of the FVB b, measuring the angle between the inferior endplate of the vertebra above and the superior endplate of the vertebra below the FVB c, measuring the angle between the superior endplate of the vertebral body above and the inferior endplate of the vertebral body below d
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The reference points that were used to measure the vertebral body heights
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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