How Much Variance Exists Among Published Definitions of Proximal Junctional Kyphosis? A Retrospective Cohort Study of Adult Spinal Deformity
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Limitations and Future Steps
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
ASD | Adult Spinal Deformity |
PJK | Proximal Junctional Kyphosis |
UIV | Upper Instrumented Vertebra |
SAV | Supra-adjacent Vertebra |
EMR | Electronic Medical Record |
BMI | Body Mass Index |
SD | Standard Deviation |
CI | Confidence Interval |
References
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Characteristics | Category | Frequency (%) or Mean (SD) |
---|---|---|
Sample Size | 116 | |
Sex | Female | 79 (68.1%) |
Male | 37 (31.9%) | |
Race | White | 108 (93.1%) |
Black | 7 (6.0%) | |
Other | 1 (0.9%) | |
Age (years) | - | 70.9 (4.3) |
BMI | - | 28.9 (5.4) |
Smoking History | Never Smoked | 68 (58.6%) |
Smoked | 48 (41.4%) | |
Average Follow-Up (days) | - | 865.9 (592.9) |
Reoperations/Revisions | Yes | 27 (28.4%) |
No | 89 (83.6%) | |
Fusion Length | Short (UIV ≤ T10) | 49 (42.2%) |
Long (UIV > T10) | 67 (57.8%) | |
Final UIV/UIV+1 angle (°) | - | 9.04 (7.04) |
Final UIV/UIV+2 angle (°) * | - | 13.40 (8.07) |
Δ UIV/UIV+1 angle (°) | - | 5.15 (9.09) |
Δ UIV/UIV+2 angle (°) * | - | 7.82 (11.31) |
Number | Abbreviated Name | PJK Definition | Source DOI | Rate of PJK (%) | 95% CI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) | PJK20 | Final UIV/UIV+2 ≥ 20° | Bridwell et al., 2013 [3] | 20.7 | 13.8–29.7% |
(2) | PJK10 | Final UIV/UIV+2 ≥ 10° and ΔUIV/UIV+2 > 10° | Glattes et al., 2005 [5] | 36.9 | 28.1–46.7% |
(3) | PJK2SD | Final UIV/UIV+1 > 2 SD of average Final UIV/UIV+1 | Helgeson et al., 2010 [9] | 3.6 | 1.2–9.5% |
(4) | PJK10+10 | Final UIV/UIV+1 ≥ 10° and ΔUIV/UIV+1 > 10° | Lonner et al., 2007 [10] | 23.4 | 16.1–32.6% |
(5) | PJK15 | Final UIV/UIV+1 > 15° | Hyun et al., 2017 [15] | 15.3 | 9.4–23.7% |
(6) | PJK30 | Final UIV/UIV+2 > 30° or displaced rod fracture or reoperation within 2 years for junctional failure, pseudoarthrosis, or rod fracture | Hills et al., 2024 [16] | 10.8 | 6.0–18.5% |
PJK Definitions | PJK Definitions: Pairwise Difference (95% CI) * | ||||||
PJK20 | PJK10 | PJK2SD | PJK10+10 | PJK15 | PJK30 | ||
PJK20 | - | 0.16 (0.045–0.28) | 0.17 (0.088–0.25) | 0.027 (−0.082 to 0.14) | 0.054 (−0.047 to 0.15) | 0.099 (4.1 × 10−3–0.19) | |
PJK10 | - | - | 0.33 (0.24–0.43) | 0.14 (0.016–0.25) | 0.22 (0.10–0.33) | 0.26 (0.15–0.37) | |
PJK2SD | - | - | - | 0.20 (0.11–0.28) | 0.12 (0.042–0.19) | 0.072 (4.7 × 10−3–0.14) | |
PJK10+10 | - | - | - | - | 0.081 (−0.022 to 0.18) | 0.13 (0.028–0.22) | |
PJK15 | - | - | - | - | - | 0.045 (−0.043 to 0.13) | |
PJK30 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
PJK Definitions | PJK Definitions: p-Value with Holm Correction | ||||||
PJK20 | PJK10 | PJK2SD | PJK10+10 | PJK15 | PJK30 | ||
PJK20 | - | 0.106 | 2.63 × 10−3 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.393 | |
PJK10 | - | - | 2.80 × 10−8 | 0.285 | 4.9 × 10−3 | 1.50 × 10−4 | |
PJK2SD | - | - | - | 4.90 × 10−4 | 0.0592 | 0.393 | |
PJK10+10 | - | - | - | - | 0.697 | 0.164 | |
PJK15 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.00 | |
PJK30 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
PJK Definitions | PJK Definitions: Percent Agreement (95% CI) | ||||||
PJK20 | PJK10 | PJK2SD | PJK10+10 | PJK15 | PJK30 | ||
PJK20 | 100% | 78.4% (69.4–85.4%) | 82.9% (74.3–89.1%) | 77.5% (68.4–84.6%) | 85.6% (77.3–91.3%) | 72.1% (62.6–80.0%) | |
PJK10 | - | 100% | 66.7% (57.0–75.2%) | 77.5% (68.4–84.6%) | 76.6% (67.4–83.9%) | 61.3% (51.5–70.2%) | |
PJK2SD | - | - | 100% | 80.2% (71.3–86.9%) | 88.3% (80.5–93.4%) | 89.2% (81.5–94.0%) | |
PJK10+10 | - | - | - | 100% | 90.1% (82.6–94.7%) | 73.0% (63.6–80.8%) | |
PJK15 | - | - | - | - | 100% | 79.3% (70.3–86.2%) | |
PJK30 | - | - | - | - | - | 100% | |
Reoperation | 69.3% (59.8–77.6%) | 60.4% (50.6–69.4%) | 79.3% (70.3–86.2%) | 64.9% (55.2–73.5%) | 71.2% (61.7–79.2%) | 82.9% (74.3–89.1%) |
Percentage of Additional PJK Definitions Met (%) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Definition | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Mean (Across Rows) |
PJK20 | 91.3 | 56.5 | 43.5 | 17.4 | 8.70 | 43.5 |
PJK10 | 78.0 | 41.5 | 26.8 | 9.76 | 4.88 | 32.2 |
PJK2SD | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 50 | 90 |
PJK10+10 | 88.5 | 65.4 | 42.3 | 15.4 | 7.69 | 43.9 |
PJK15 | 100 | 76.5 | 64.7 | 23.5 | 11.8 | 55.3 |
PJK30 | 29.4 | 11.8 | 11.8 | 11.8 | 11.8 | 15.3 |
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Bui, T.T.; Joseph, K.; Yahanda, A.T.; Vogl, S.; Ruiz-Cardozo, M.; Molina, C.A. How Much Variance Exists Among Published Definitions of Proximal Junctional Kyphosis? A Retrospective Cohort Study of Adult Spinal Deformity. J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14, 5469. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14155469
Bui TT, Joseph K, Yahanda AT, Vogl S, Ruiz-Cardozo M, Molina CA. How Much Variance Exists Among Published Definitions of Proximal Junctional Kyphosis? A Retrospective Cohort Study of Adult Spinal Deformity. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2025; 14(15):5469. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14155469
Chicago/Turabian StyleBui, Tim T., Karan Joseph, Alexander T. Yahanda, Samuel Vogl, Miguel Ruiz-Cardozo, and Camilo A. Molina. 2025. "How Much Variance Exists Among Published Definitions of Proximal Junctional Kyphosis? A Retrospective Cohort Study of Adult Spinal Deformity" Journal of Clinical Medicine 14, no. 15: 5469. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14155469
APA StyleBui, T. T., Joseph, K., Yahanda, A. T., Vogl, S., Ruiz-Cardozo, M., & Molina, C. A. (2025). How Much Variance Exists Among Published Definitions of Proximal Junctional Kyphosis? A Retrospective Cohort Study of Adult Spinal Deformity. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(15), 5469. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14155469