Research Articles

External Validity of the Novel Surrogate Measures for Occipitocervical Alignment

Abstract

Abstract

Purpose: Occipitocervical fusion is a rare and often challenging surgical procedure. Several methods have been introduced to obtain the best measures for occipitocervical alignment. The mandible-C2 angle was first introduced in 2020. In this study we aimed to evaluate the out-of-sample validity of this measures.

Methods: To compare our results, we followed the same methodology as the root article. We retrospectively studied 274 lateral cervical radiographs of patients aging 1 to 87 years who had no cervical pathology evident on X-ray. A board-certified radiologist and a second-year radiology resident, performed the measurements pertaining to five specific angles as suggested by Bellabarba. The five angles measured consisted of (1) anterior C2 body/anterior mandible angle, (2) anterior C2 body/posterior mandible angle, (3) posterior C2 body/anterior mandible angle, (4) posterior C2 body/posterior mandible angle, and (5) Occiput-C2 Angle.

Results: Inter-rater correlation data was calculated for single and average measures. The Inter-rater agreement for individual angle measures of O-C2A, AB/AM, AB/PM, PB/AM, and PB/ PM were 0.49, 0.11, 0.25, 0.33, and 0.49 respectively. The Intraclass correlation coefficient for average measures of O-C2A, AB/AM, AB/PM, PB/AM, and PB/PM were 0.66, 0.20, 0.40, 0.50, and 0.66 respectively.

Conclusion: Our study did not show satisfying results to confirm using these angles as a reliable marker for occipitocervical alignment, except for one of them, showing outcomes relatively compatible with our standard angle

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IssueVol 10 No 4 (2024) QRcode
SectionResearch Articles
DOI https://doi.org/10.18502/jost.v10i4.17357
Keywords
occipitocervical alignment, craniocervical instability, mandible-C2 angle, Occipitocervical fusion, Radiographic assessment.
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Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Mirbolook A, Raoufi M, Yousefifar Y, Forghan M, Fakhari M, Bozorgmanesh M. External Validity of the Novel Surrogate Measures for Occipitocervical Alignment. J Orthop Spine Trauma. 2024;10(4):155-9.