Comparison of Predictive Performance for Pedicle Screw Loosening Between Computed Tomography-Based Hounsfield Units and Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Vertebral Bone Quality Score After Lumbar Surgery

Comparison of predictive performance for pedicel screw loosening (PSL) between CT-based Hounsfield units (HU) and MRI-based vertebral bone quality score (VBQ) following lumbar surgery METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on patients who received transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) continuously at our institution from May 2018 to September 2020. Based on 12 months follow-up lumbar X-ray, screw loosening was defined as a clear zone of minimal thickness of ≥ 1 mm around the pedicle screw on radiography. VBQ score and HU value were measured using preoperative MRI and CT, respectively. Then, we evaluated the predictive performance of these two parameters by comparing the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.