A novel MRI-based Cervical-Endplate Bone Quality score independently predicts cage subsidence after Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion

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Abstract
Introduction Postoperative cage subsidence after Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) often has adverse clinical consequences and is closely related to Bone Mineral Density (BMD). Previous studies have shown that cage subsidence can be better predicted by measuring site-specific bone density. MRI-based Endplate Bone Quality (EBQ) scoring effectively predicts cage subsidence after lumbar interbody fusion. However, there is still a lack of studies on the practical application of EBQ scoring in the cervical spine. Purpose To create a similar MRI-based scoring system for Cervical-EBQ (C-EBQ) and to assess the correlation of the C-EBQ with endplate Computed Tomography (CT)-Hounsfield Units (HU) and the ability of this scoring system to independently predict cage subsidence after ACDF, comparing the predictive ability of the C-EBQ with the Cervical-Vertebral Bone Quality (C-VBQ) score. Methods A total of 161 patients who underwent single-level ACDF for degenerative cervical spondylosis at our institution from 2012 to 2022 were included. Demographics, procedure-related data, and radiological data were collected, and Pearson correlation test was used to determine the correlation between C-EBQ and endplate HU values. Cage subsidence was defined as fusion segment height loss of ≥ 3 mm. Receiver operating characteristic analysis and area-under-the-curve values were used to assess the predictive ability of C-EBQ and C-VBQ. A multivariate logistic regression model was developed to identify potential risk factors associated with subsidence. Results Cage subsidence was present in 65 (40.4%) of 161 patients. The mean C-EBQ score was 1.81 ± 0.35 in the group without subsidence and 2.59 ± 0.58 in the group with subsidence (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that a higher C-EBQ score was significantly associated with subsidence (OR = 5.700; 95%CI = 3.435–8.193; P < 0.001), was the only independent predictor of cage subsidence after ACDF, had a predictive accuracy of 93.7%, which was superior to the C-VBQ score (89.2%), and was significantly negatively correlated with the endplate HU value (r = −0.58, P < 0.001). Conclusions Higher C-EBQ scores were significantly associated with postoperative cage subsidence after ACDF. There was a significant negative correlation between C-EBQ and endplate HU values. The C-EBQ score may be a promising tool for assessing preoperative bone quality and postoperative cage subsidence and is superior to the C-VBQ.

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