Risk of neurologic deficit in medially breached pedicle screws assessed by computed tomography: a systematic review

Pedicle screws are commonly used for vertebral instrumentation, and a postoperative computed tomography (CT) scan is used to evaluate their position within the pedicle. Medial pedicle screw breaching occurs in 20%–40% of cases. This study investigated the correlation between radiographically evident...

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Main Authors: Rahmad Mulyadi, Witantra Dhamar Hutami, Kevin Dilian Suganda, Dhiya Farah Khalisha
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Korean Spine Society 2024-12-01
Series:Asian Spine Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://asianspinejournal.org/upload/pdf/asj-2024-0325.pdf
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author Rahmad Mulyadi
Witantra Dhamar Hutami
Kevin Dilian Suganda
Dhiya Farah Khalisha
author_facet Rahmad Mulyadi
Witantra Dhamar Hutami
Kevin Dilian Suganda
Dhiya Farah Khalisha
author_sort Rahmad Mulyadi
collection DOAJ
description Pedicle screws are commonly used for vertebral instrumentation, and a postoperative computed tomography (CT) scan is used to evaluate their position within the pedicle. Medial pedicle screw breaching occurs in 20%–40% of cases. This study investigated the correlation between radiographically evident medial breaching and the incidence of nerve injury, shedding light on the clinical implications. A literature search was conducted on biomedical databases regarding neurologic deficits associated with medially breached pedicle screws with pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The methodology of the included studies was analyzed, and a systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to investigate the correlation between medial breach on axial CT and clinical neurologic deficits. Our study included thirteen articles. Medial breaches <2 mm caused no neurologic deficit. Medial breaches of 2–4 mm increased the risk of neurologic deficit by 83%, with a risk ratio of 0.17. Breaches exceeding 4 mm increased the risk by 90%, with a risk ratio of 0.1, and were associated with radiculopathy or muscle weakness in 25%–100% of cases. Medial pedicle screw breaches <2 mm are safe, carrying no risk of neurologic injury. Breaches exceeding ≥2 mm significantly increase this risk. For patients experiencing new neurologic deficit (sensory or motor) after pedicle screw instrumentation, particularly in lumbar vertebrae, a postoperative axial CT scan is recommended to identify breaches exceeding 2 mm as the potential cause of neurologic deficit.
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spelling doaj-art-94e15c75f0ee4f64bb3ec67e566a585d2025-08-20T01:52:19ZengKorean Spine SocietyAsian Spine Journal1976-19021976-78462024-12-0118690391210.31616/asj.2024.03251692Risk of neurologic deficit in medially breached pedicle screws assessed by computed tomography: a systematic reviewRahmad Mulyadi0Witantra Dhamar Hutami1Kevin Dilian Suganda2Dhiya Farah Khalisha3 Department of Radiology, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo National Central Public Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo National Central Public Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia Department of Radiology, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo National Central Public Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia Department of Radiology, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo National Central Public Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, IndonesiaPedicle screws are commonly used for vertebral instrumentation, and a postoperative computed tomography (CT) scan is used to evaluate their position within the pedicle. Medial pedicle screw breaching occurs in 20%–40% of cases. This study investigated the correlation between radiographically evident medial breaching and the incidence of nerve injury, shedding light on the clinical implications. A literature search was conducted on biomedical databases regarding neurologic deficits associated with medially breached pedicle screws with pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The methodology of the included studies was analyzed, and a systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to investigate the correlation between medial breach on axial CT and clinical neurologic deficits. Our study included thirteen articles. Medial breaches <2 mm caused no neurologic deficit. Medial breaches of 2–4 mm increased the risk of neurologic deficit by 83%, with a risk ratio of 0.17. Breaches exceeding 4 mm increased the risk by 90%, with a risk ratio of 0.1, and were associated with radiculopathy or muscle weakness in 25%–100% of cases. Medial pedicle screw breaches <2 mm are safe, carrying no risk of neurologic injury. Breaches exceeding ≥2 mm significantly increase this risk. For patients experiencing new neurologic deficit (sensory or motor) after pedicle screw instrumentation, particularly in lumbar vertebrae, a postoperative axial CT scan is recommended to identify breaches exceeding 2 mm as the potential cause of neurologic deficit.http://asianspinejournal.org/upload/pdf/asj-2024-0325.pdfpedicle screwsmedial breachingaxial computed tomographyneurologic deficitrisk
spellingShingle Rahmad Mulyadi
Witantra Dhamar Hutami
Kevin Dilian Suganda
Dhiya Farah Khalisha
Risk of neurologic deficit in medially breached pedicle screws assessed by computed tomography: a systematic review
Asian Spine Journal
pedicle screws
medial breaching
axial computed tomography
neurologic deficit
risk
title Risk of neurologic deficit in medially breached pedicle screws assessed by computed tomography: a systematic review
title_full Risk of neurologic deficit in medially breached pedicle screws assessed by computed tomography: a systematic review
title_fullStr Risk of neurologic deficit in medially breached pedicle screws assessed by computed tomography: a systematic review
title_full_unstemmed Risk of neurologic deficit in medially breached pedicle screws assessed by computed tomography: a systematic review
title_short Risk of neurologic deficit in medially breached pedicle screws assessed by computed tomography: a systematic review
title_sort risk of neurologic deficit in medially breached pedicle screws assessed by computed tomography a systematic review
topic pedicle screws
medial breaching
axial computed tomography
neurologic deficit
risk
url http://asianspinejournal.org/upload/pdf/asj-2024-0325.pdf
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