Surgical, Radiographic, and Patient-Related Risk Factors for Proximal Junctional Kyphosis: A Meta-Analysis.

STUDY DESIGN

Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE

Proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) is a complication of surgical management for adult spinal deformity with a multifactorial etiology. Many risk factors are controversial and their relative importance are not fully understood. We aimed to identify the surgical, radiographic, and patient-related risk factors associated with PJK and proximal junctional failure (PJF).

METHODS

A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and EMBASE. The inclusion criteria included prospective randomized control trials and prospective/retrospective cohort studies of adult patients with radiographic evidence of PJK, which was defined as a proximal junctional sagittal Cobb angle ≥10° and at least 10° greater than the preoperative measurement. Studies required a minimum of 10 patients and 12 months of follow-up.

RESULTS

A total of 14 unique studies, including 1908 patients were included. The pooled analysis showed significant differences between the PJK and non-PJK groups in age (weighted mean difference [WMD] -3.80; = .03), prevalence of osteopenia/osteoporosis (odds ratio [OR] 1.99; = .0004), preoperative sagittal vertical axis (SVA) (WMD -17.52; = .02), preoperative lumbar lordosis (LL) (WMD -1.22; = .002), pedicle screw instrumentation at the upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) (OR 1.67; = .02), change in SVA (WMD -11.87; = .01), fusion to sacrum/pelvis/ilium (OR 2.14; < .00 001), change in LL (WMD -5.61; = .01), and postoperative SVA (WMD -7.79; = .008).

CONCLUSIONS

Our meta-analysis suggests that age, osteopenia/osteoporosis, high preoperative SVA, high postoperative SVA, low preoperative LL, use of pedicle screws at the UIV, SVA change/correction, LL change/correction, and fusion to sacrum/pelvis/iliac region are risk factors for PJK.