{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,4]],"date-time":"2026-06-04T05:04:09Z","timestamp":1780549449226,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,4]],"date-time":"2026-06-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1780531200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Surg."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To investigate the association of preoperative paraspinal muscle quality (quantified by fat infiltration) on the clinical and radiographic outcomes following open pedicle screw fixation (OPSF) for thoracolumbar fractures.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      This retrospective study analyzed the clinical data of 48 patients with single-segment thoracolumbar fractures who underwent OPSF surgery between January 2021 and December 2023. Patients were stratified into a low-fat group (LFG, FI\u2009&amp;lt;\u200925%,\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u200926) and a high-fat group (HFG, FI\u2009\u2265\u200925%,\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u200922) based on the preoperative fat infiltration rate (FI) of paraspinal muscles at the L4\/5 level measured on MRI. General clinical data, perioperative indicators, radiographic parameters (anterior vertebral body height ratio - AVBHr, vertebral body angle - VBA, regional kyphosis angle - RKA), and clinical efficacy scores (Visual Analogue Scale - VAS, Oswestry Disability Index - ODI) were compared between groups preoperatively, at 1 month, and 1 year postoperatively.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The groups were comparable in all baseline and perioperative characteristics (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&amp;gt;\u20090.05). The LFG demonstrated significantly better paraspinal muscle parameters at multiple spinal levels (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&amp;lt;\u20090.05). Although the immediate postoperative radiographic correction achieved was similar between groups (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&amp;gt;\u20090.05), the HFG exhibited significantly greater loss of correction in both VBA and RKA at the 1-year follow-up (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&amp;lt;\u20090.05). This difference in correction loss was particularly pronounced in the subgroup of patients with more severe, unstable fractures (AO type A3\/A4). No significant differences were found in VAS and ODI scores at any postoperative time point (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&amp;gt;\u20090.05). Complication rates were similar between groups (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&amp;gt;\u20090.05).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Preoperative lumbar paraspinal muscle quality is not associated with the initial surgical reduction but is significantly associated with the long-term maintenance of radiographic correction after OPSF, especially in unstable fracture patterns. Assessment of paraspinal muscle quality could serve as a valuable prognostic tool for surgical planning and patient counseling.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fsurg.2026.1759202","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,4]],"date-time":"2026-06-04T04:30:13Z","timestamp":1780547413000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Impact of preoperative lumbar paraspinal muscle quality on the prognosis of open pedicle screw fixation for thoracolumbar fractures"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Hao","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cervical Spondylosis and Spinal Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine","place":["Guangzhou, 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Spondylosis and Spinal Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine","place":["Guangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mai","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cervical Spondylosis and Spinal Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine","place":["Guangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yufeng","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cervical Spondylosis and Spinal Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine","place":["Guangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jintao","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Suzhou TCM Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine","place":["Suzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhensong","family":"Yao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cervical Spondylosis and Spinal Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine","place":["Guangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianchao","family":"Cui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cervical Spondylosis and Spinal Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine","place":["Guangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"673","DOI":"10.1007\/s00117-016-0146-2","article-title":"Trauma der Lendenwirbels\u00e4ule und des thorakolumbalen 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