Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.
Department of the First Clinical Medical College, Nanchang University, Jiangxi Province, China.
J Neuroimaging. 2023 Jul-Aug;33(4):493-500. doi: 10.1111/jon.13093. Epub 2023 Mar 13.
At present, the role of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) remains controversial. This study aimed to confirm the role of DTI by comparing the differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) values between patients with cervical spinal cord compression (CSCC) and healthy individuals.
A systematic and comprehensive literature search was conducted using the Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases to compare the mean FA values of patients with CSCC and healthy controls across all compression levels in the cervical spinal cord. Essential data from the literature, such as demographic information, imaging parameters, and DTI analysis method, were extracted. Fixed- or random-effect models based on I heterogeneity were applied to the pooled and subgroup analyses.
Ten studies containing 445 patients and 197 healthy volunteers were eligible. The pooled results demonstrated a decrease in mean FA values across all compression levels in the experiment group compared to those in healthy controls (standardized mean difference = -1.54; 95% confidence interval = [-1.95, -1.14]; p < .001). Meta-regression revealed that the scanner field strength and DTI analysis method had a significant effect on heterogeneity.
Our results show that FA values in the spinal cord decline in patients with CSCC, thus confirming the crucial role of DTI in CSCC.
目前，弥散张量成像（DTI）的作用仍存在争议。本研究旨在通过比较颈椎脊髓压迫症（CSCC）患者与健康个体的各向异性分数（FA）值差异，来证实 DTI 的作用。
使用 Web of Science、Embase、PubMed 和 Cochrane Library 数据库进行系统和全面的文献检索，比较颈椎脊髓各压迫水平 CSCC 患者和健康对照者的平均 FA 值。从文献中提取基本数据，如人口统计学信息、成像参数和 DTI 分析方法。基于 I ² 异质性，对汇总分析和亚组分析应用固定或随机效应模型。
纳入了 10 项研究，共 445 名患者和 197 名健康志愿者。汇总结果表明，实验组所有压迫水平的平均 FA 值均低于健康对照组（标准化均数差=-1.54；95%置信区间：-1.95，-1.14；p<0.001）。元回归显示，扫描器场强和 DTI 分析方法对异质性有显著影响。
我们的结果表明，CSCC 患者脊髓的 FA 值下降，从而证实了 DTI 在 CSCC 中的重要作用。
