Letter to the Editor: Lumbar Morphometry: A Study of Lumbar Vertebrae from a Pakistani Population Using Computed Tomography Scans

Article information

Asian Spine J. 2015;9(2):316-316

Publication date (electronic) : 2015 April 15

doi : https://doi.org/10.4184/asj.2015.9.2.316

Safak Ekinci ¹, Faruk Akyildiz ², Kenan Koca ³, Sebahattin Sari ⁴, Serkan Akpancar ³

¹Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Agri Military Hospital, Agri, Turkey.

²Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Malatya Military Hospital, Malatya, Turkey.

³Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Gulhane Military Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.

⁴Department of Radiology, Gulhane Military Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.

Corresponding author: Safak Ekinci. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Agri Military Hospital, 04000 Erzurum Caddesi, Agri, Turkey. Tel: +90-5327339850, Fax: +90-4722152747, safakekinci@yahoo.com

Received 2014 December 14; Accepted 2014 December 15.

Dear Editor,

We would like to discuss on the publication entitled "Lumbar morphometry: a study of lumbar vertebrae from a Pakistani population using computed tomography scans [1]". In the study, the authors described the characteristics of lumbar vertebrae of Pakistani patients and compared them with studies from other populations.

Honestly the objective of the study is noteworthy and we have a question for the authors: lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV) are common in the general population, with a reported prevalence of 4%-21% [2,3]. We have studied 500 lumbar plain films and observed 17.6% transitional lumbosacral junctions [4,5].

Have the authors observed and noted transitional vertebrae in their study or have any other studies/reports on this issue shown correlation with their population?

We would appreciate the authors' comments on this concern.

Notes

Conflict of Interest: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

References

1. Alam MM, Waqas M, Shallwani H, Javed G. Lumbar morphometry: a study of lumbar vertebrae from a Pakistani population using computed tomography scans. Asian Spine J 2014;8:421–426. 25187858.

2. O'Driscoll CM, Irwin A, Saifuddin A. Variations in morphology of the lumbosacral junction on sagittal MRI: correlation with plain radiography. Skeletal Radiol 1996;25:225–230. 8741056.

3. Castellvi AE, Goldstein LA, Chan DP. Lumbosacral transitional vertebrae and their relationship with lumbar extradural defects. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 1984;9:493–495. 6495013.

4. Delport EG, Cucuzzella TR, Kim N, Marley J, Pruitt C, Delport AG. Lumbosacral transitional vertebrae: incidence in a consecutive patient series. Pain Physician 2006;9:53–56. 16700281.

5. Ekinci S, Ersen O. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Arch Clin Exp Surg 2014;3:174–182.

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