Correlation between "Snake-Eyes" Sign and Role of Surgery with a Focus on Postoperative Outcome: A Systematic Review.
作者信息
Scalia Gianluca, Costanzo Roberta, Brunasso Lara, Garufi Giada, Bonosi Lapo, Ricciardo Giuseppe, Graziano Francesca, Nicoletti Giovanni Federico, Cardali Salvatore Massimiliano, Iacopino Domenico Gerardo, Maugeri Rosario, Umana Giuseppe Emmanuele
机构信息
Neurosurgery Unit, Head and Neck Surgery Department, Garibaldi Hospital, 95123 Catania, Italy.
Neurosurgical Clinic, AOUP "Paolo Giaccone", Post Graduate Residency Program in Neurologic Surgery, Department of Biomedicine Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, School of Medicine, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.
出版信息
Brain Sci. 2023 Feb 10;13(2):301. doi: 10.3390/brainsci13020301.
(1) Background: The "snake-eyes" sign represents a unique finding characterized by bilateral hyperintense symmetric, circular, or ovoid foci on T2-weighted MRI sequences in the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord. There are conflicting opinions as some authors affirm that it does not affect the prognosis of cervical myelopathy while other papers emphasize the opposite, stating how the "snake-eyes" sign constitutes an irreversible lesion and a predictor of poor prognosis. This systematic review evaluates the correlation between the "snake-eyes" sign and the prognosis of cervical myelopathy after surgery including anterior and/or posterior approaches; (2) Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA statement and a total of seven papers were included; (3) Results: A total of 419 patients were evaluated, with a mean age of 55.72 ± 14.38 years. After surgery, 26.01% of patients experienced a significant clinical improvement, while in 61.81%, there was no significant improvement. In particular, 144 of 196 patients (73.5%) treated through an anterior approach and 114 of 223 (51.1%) that underwent a posterior approach, did not present a significant improvement. Furthermore, in 12.17% of patients, the postoperative outcome was not reported, leading to a high risk of bias in the assessment of the prognostic significance of the "snake-eyes" appearance; (4) Conclusions: The "snake-eyes" sign is usually considered as an unfavorable predictive marker for myelopathic surgical patients, but the pathophysiology is still unclear, and the results have not yet reached unified levels of evidence.