NCT05565456

Brief Summary

Instrumented lumbar fusion surgery is often accompanied by interbody fusion using an autologous bone graft that is supposed to expand and remodel to achieve a rigid and lasting bony construction between two vertebrae. However, there is a dearth of knowledge regarding the process of biological remodelling of intercorporal bone grafts. Also, a valid and reliable assessment of fusion status remains challenging because there is no objective tool available to quantify the bone remodelling process. CT-based Hounsfield Units correlate with Bone Mineral Density and can be used as a proxy to establish trajectories over time to assess changes in bone mineral density from the bone graft.

Trial Health

55
Monitor

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
30

participants targeted

Target at below P25 for all trials

Timeline
Completed

Started Dec 2022

Typical duration for all trials

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
active not recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

September 27, 2022

Completed
7 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

October 4, 2022

Completed
2 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

December 2, 2022

Completed
2.9 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

November 1, 2025

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

November 1, 2025

Completed
Last Updated

August 5, 2025

Status Verified

August 1, 2025

Enrollment Period

2.9 years

First QC Date

September 27, 2022

Last Update Submit

August 4, 2025

Conditions

Keywords

Bone DensityBone RemodellingTomography, X-Ray Computed

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Hounsfield Units (HU)

    The participants' individual and group (mean, SD) HU values of their intercorporal bone graft(s) will be calculated from their (four) CT-scans.

    The HU will be assessed in the first week after surgery, at 6 months, at one year and at two years post-surgery.

Secondary Outcomes (4)

  • Intercorporal fusion

    Intercorporal fusion will be assessed in the first week after surgery, at 6 months, at one year and at two years post-surgery.

  • Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for back and leg pain.

    Back and leg pain will be assessed at baseline, at 6 months, at one year and at two years post-surgery.

  • Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (ODI), Dutch version.

    The degree of functional disability will be assessed at baseline, at 6 months, at one year and at two years post-surgery.

  • 36-item Research and Development (RAND-36) Health Survey, Dutch version.

    The self-reported quality of life will be assessed at baseline, at 6 months, at one year and at two years post-surgery.

Eligibility Criteria

Age45 Years - 80 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
Sampling MethodNon-Probability Sample
Study Population

Thirty patients with a symptomatic spondylolisthesis (lytic/degenerative/iatrogenic) who have an indication for single level lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF/TLIF) will be recruited.

You may qualify if:

  • non-responsiveness to non-operative treatment in the six months prior to study enrolment
  • fusion indicated for only one segment in the L1 to S1/ilium region
  • between the age of 45 and 80.

You may not qualify if:

  • receiving revision spine surgery
  • not wanting to provide informed consent
  • pregnant or expecting to be pregnant within in the next two years.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Rijnstate Hospital

Arnhem, Gelderland, 6800 WC, Netherlands

Location

Related Publications (23)

  • Mobbs RJ, Phan K, Malham G, Seex K, Rao PJ. Lumbar interbody fusion: techniques, indications and comparison of interbody fusion options including PLIF, TLIF, MI-TLIF, OLIF/ATP, LLIF and ALIF. J Spine Surg. 2015 Dec;1(1):2-18. doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2414-469X.2015.10.05.

    PMID: 27683674BACKGROUND
  • Cole CD, McCall TD, Schmidt MH, Dailey AT. Comparison of low back fusion techniques: transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) or posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) approaches. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2009 Jun;2(2):118-26. doi: 10.1007/s12178-009-9053-8. Epub 2009 Apr 29.

    PMID: 19468868BACKGROUND
  • Chun DS, Baker KC, Hsu WK. Lumbar pseudarthrosis: a review of current diagnosis and treatment. Neurosurg Focus. 2015 Oct;39(4):E10. doi: 10.3171/2015.7.FOCUS15292.

    PMID: 26424334BACKGROUND
  • Martin BI, Mirza SK, Comstock BA, Gray DT, Kreuter W, Deyo RA. Reoperation rates following lumbar spine surgery and the influence of spinal fusion procedures. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2007 Feb 1;32(3):382-7. doi: 10.1097/01.brs.0000254104.55716.46.

    PMID: 17268274BACKGROUND
  • Fogel GR, Toohey JS, Neidre A, Brantigan JW. Fusion assessment of posterior lumbar interbody fusion using radiolucent cages: X-ray films and helical computed tomography scans compared with surgical exploration of fusion. Spine J. 2008 Jul-Aug;8(4):570-7. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2007.03.013. Epub 2007 May 29.

    PMID: 17544854BACKGROUND
  • Kim KS, Yang TK, Lee JC. Radiological changes in the bone fusion site after posterior lumbar interbody fusion using carbon cages impacted with laminar bone chips: follow-up study over more than 4 years. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2005 Mar 15;30(6):655-60. doi: 10.1097/01.brs.0000155421.07796.7f.

    PMID: 15770181BACKGROUND
  • Sakeb N, Ahsan K. Comparison of the early results of transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion and posterior lumbar interbody fusion in symptomatic lumbar instability. Indian J Orthop. 2013 May;47(3):255-63. doi: 10.4103/0019-5413.111484.

    PMID: 23798756BACKGROUND
  • Williams AL, Gornet MF, Burkus JK. CT evaluation of lumbar interbody fusion: current concepts. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2005 Sep;26(8):2057-66. No abstract available.

    PMID: 16155160BACKGROUND
  • Brantigan JW, Steffee AD. A carbon fiber implant to aid interbody lumbar fusion. Two-year clinical results in the first 26 patients. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1993 Oct 15;18(14):2106-7. doi: 10.1097/00007632-199310001-00030.

    PMID: 8272967BACKGROUND
  • Bridwell KH, Lenke LG, McEnery KW, Baldus C, Blanke K. Anterior fresh frozen structural allografts in the thoracic and lumbar spine. Do they work if combined with posterior fusion and instrumentation in adult patients with kyphosis or anterior column defects? Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1995 Jun 15;20(12):1410-8.

    PMID: 7676341BACKGROUND
  • Christensen FB, Laursen M, Gelineck J, Eiskjaer SP, Thomsen K, Bunger CE. Interobserver and intraobserver agreement of radiograph interpretation with and without pedicle screw implants: the need for a detailed classification system in posterolateral spinal fusion. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2001 Mar 1;26(5):538-43; discussion 543-4. doi: 10.1097/00007632-200103010-00018.

    PMID: 11242382BACKGROUND
  • Soriano Sanchez JA, Soriano Solis S, Soto Garcia ME, Soriano Solis HA, Torres BYA, Romero Rangel JAI. Radiological diagnostic accuracy study comparing Lenke, Bridwell, BSF, and CT-HU fusion grading scales for minimally invasive lumbar interbody fusion spine surgery and its correlation to clinical outcome. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 May 22;99(21):e19979. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000019979.

    PMID: 32481262BACKGROUND
  • Brodsky AE, Kovalsky ES, Khalil MA. Correlation of radiologic assessment of lumbar spine fusions with surgical exploration. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1991 Jun;16(6 Suppl):S261-5. doi: 10.1097/00007632-199106001-00017.

    PMID: 1862422BACKGROUND
  • Carreon LY, Glassman SD, Schwender JD, Subach BR, Gornet MF, Ohno S. Reliability and accuracy of fine-cut computed tomography scans to determine the status of anterior interbody fusions with metallic cages. Spine J. 2008 Nov-Dec;8(6):998-1002. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2007.12.004. Epub 2008 Feb 14.

    PMID: 18280214BACKGROUND
  • van Bilsen MWT, Ullrich C, Ferraris L, Hempfing A, Hitzl W, Mayer M, Koller H. Diagnostic accuracy of CT scan-based criteria compared with surgical exploration for the analysis of cervical fusion and nonunion. J Neurosurg Spine. 2020 Mar 6;33(1):51-57. doi: 10.3171/2019.12.SPINE191011. Print 2020 Jul 1.

    PMID: 32114527BACKGROUND
  • Schreiber JJ, Anderson PA, Hsu WK. Use of computed tomography for assessing bone mineral density. Neurosurg Focus. 2014;37(1):E4. doi: 10.3171/2014.5.FOCUS1483.

    PMID: 24981903BACKGROUND
  • Lee S, Chung CK, Oh SH, Park SB. Correlation between Bone Mineral Density Measured by Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry and Hounsfield Units Measured by Diagnostic CT in Lumbar Spine. J Korean Neurosurg Soc. 2013 Nov;54(5):384-9. doi: 10.3340/jkns.2013.54.5.384. Epub 2013 Nov 30.

    PMID: 24379944BACKGROUND
  • Demir O, Oksuz E, Deniz FE, Demir O. Assessing the effects of lumbar posterior stabilization and fusion to vertebral bone density in stabilized and adjacent segments by using Hounsfield unit. J Spine Surg. 2017 Dec;3(4):548-553. doi: 10.21037/jss.2017.09.05.

    PMID: 29354730BACKGROUND
  • Schreiber JJ, Hughes AP, Taher F, Girardi FP. An association can be found between hounsfield units and success of lumbar spine fusion. HSS J. 2014 Feb;10(1):25-9. doi: 10.1007/s11420-013-9367-3. Epub 2013 Nov 1.

    PMID: 24482618BACKGROUND
  • Nguyen HS, Shabani S, Patel M, Maiman D. Posterolateral lumbar fusion: Relationship between computed tomography Hounsfield units and symptomatic pseudoarthrosis. Surg Neurol Int. 2015 Nov 25;6(Suppl 24):S611-4. doi: 10.4103/2152-7806.170443. eCollection 2015.

    PMID: 26693390BACKGROUND
  • Schreiber JJ, Anderson PA, Rosas HG, Buchholz AL, Au AG. Hounsfield units for assessing bone mineral density and strength: a tool for osteoporosis management. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2011 Jun 1;93(11):1057-63. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.J.00160.

    PMID: 21655899BACKGROUND
  • Spruit M, Meijers H, Obradov M, Anderson PG. CT density measurement of bone graft within an intervertebral lumbar cage: increase of hounsfield units as an indicator for increasing bone mineral content. J Spinal Disord Tech. 2004 Jun;17(3):232-5. doi: 10.1097/00024720-200406000-00011.

    PMID: 15167340BACKGROUND
  • Reijmer JFH, de Jong LD, Kruyt MC, van Gorp MJ, Susante JLC. Repeated CT-based Hounsfield Unit Measurements as a Proxy Measure of Intercorporal Bone Graft Remodeling Towards Spinal Fusion; a Feasibility Study. [Submitted].

    BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Spondylolisthesis

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

SpondylolysisSpondylosisSpinal DiseasesBone DiseasesMusculoskeletal Diseases

Study Officials

  • Job LC van Susante, Dr. PhD.

    Rijnstate ziekenhuis

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
observational
Observational Model
COHORT
Time Perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

September 27, 2022

First Posted

October 4, 2022

Study Start

December 2, 2022

Primary Completion

November 1, 2025

Study Completion

November 1, 2025

Last Updated

August 5, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Locations