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World Neurosurg. 2022 Jan;157:e497-e505. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2021.10.138. Epub 2021 Oct 25.

Are Two-Dimensional Morphometric Measures Reflective of Disease Severity in Adult Chiari I Malformation?.

World neurosurgery

Sumit Thakar, Vidyasagar Kanneganti, Blaise Simplice Talla Nwotchouang, Sara J Salem, Maggie Eppelheimer, Francis Loth, Philip A Allen, Saritha Aryan, Alangar S Hegde

Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurological Sciences, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Bangalore, India. Electronic address: [email protected].
  2. Department of Neurological Sciences, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Bangalore, India.
  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Conquer Chiari Research Center, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA.
  4. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Conquer Chiari Research Center, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA.
  5. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Conquer Chiari Research Center, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Conquer Chiari Research Center, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA.
  6. Department of Psychology, Conquer Chiari Research Center, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA.

PMID: 34710575 DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2021.10.138

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Two-dimensional (2D) morphometric measures have been previously used to diagnose Chiari I malformation (CMI) and distinguish patients from healthy subjects. There is, however, a paucity of literature regarding whether morphometric differences exist across the range of CMI disease severity. We evaluated whether 2D morphometrics demonstrate significant changes across standardized grades of CMI severity in adults.

METHODS: This retrospective observational study comprised 76 patients with symptomatic CMI with or without syringomyelia. Patients matched for age, sex, and body mass index were selected from each of the 3 severity grades of the Chiari Severity Index (CSI). The study used 17 2D craniocervical and posterior fossa morphometric variables that were previously found to differentiate patients with CMI from healthy subjects. The measurements were performed on midsagittal T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging sequences using 2 custom in-house software tools, MorphPro and CerePro, and compared across CSI grades.

RESULTS: Analysis of variance showed that none of the 17 morphometric variables were significantly different across the 3 CSI grades (P > 0.003). Bayes factor 10 scores ranged from 0.11 to 0.82. Of variables, 9 had Bayes factor 10 scores between 0.10 and 0.30, while 8 had scores between 0.30 and 1. None of the Bayes factor 10 scores provided support for the alternative hypothesis that the morphometric measures differed across the CSI grades.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that 2D morphometrics are not reflective of CMI disease severity as indicated by the CSI grading system. The findings of our study support the need for further investigation into whether non-2D morphometric variables can be used as markers of disease severity.

Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Chiari I malformation; Chiari severity index; Disease severity; Morphometrics

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