Prevalence of Incidental Extraspinal Findings on MR Imaging of the Lumbar Spine in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Article Figures & Data

Table 1:

Estimated prevalence for extraspinal findings, patients, and clinically significant findings

Groups	Studies	Total	Events	Proportion (95% CI)	I² (%)^{^a}
All extraspinal findings
Overall	16^8-23	19593	6006	19.93 (11.05–30.65)	99.7
Men	3^10,12,15	4344	1463	33.28 (24.50–42.69)	97.7
Women	3^10,12,15	5692	2722	55.05 (12.72–93.22)	99.9
Men and women (<40 years)	1¹⁹	269	5	1.86 (0.61–4.28)	–
Men and women (≥40 years)	4^11,19,21,23	1261	150	13.81 (0.80–37.82)	98.9
All patients with extraspinal findings
Overall	10^{8-13,15,19,22,23}	14992	5215	26.65 (14.76–40.57)	99.7
Men	3^8,10,12	2934	902	24.34 (11.03–40.81)	98.7
Women	3^8,10,12	3490	1919	51.04 (2.91–97.76)	99.9
Men and women (<40 years)	2^12,19	540	55	8.29 (6.09–10.79)	–
Men and women (≥40 years)	4^11,12,19,23	3961	785	16.23 (4.78–32.67)	99.0
All clinically significant findings
Overall	8^{10-13,15,18,22,23}	12778	901	5.35 (3.15–8.08)	97.1
Men	3^10,12,15	4344	260	5.92 (4.61–7.39)	74.2
Women	3^10,12,15	5692	533	9.77 (4.67–16.48)	98.3
Men and women (≥40 years)	2^11,23	672	67	9.96 (7.80–12.36)	–

Table 2:

Estimated prevalence of extra-spinal findings by body region

Body Regions	Studies	Total	Events	Proportion (95% CI)	I² (%)^{^a}
Gastrointestinal
Overall	12^{8,10-18,20,21}	16592	929	2.04 (0.29–5.22)	99.2
Men	2^10,15	2993	254	6.90 (6.02–7.84)	–
Women	2^10,15	4019	460	8.15 (7.33–9.02)	–
Men and women (≥40 years)	2^11,21	330	8	2.31 (0.82–4.38)	–
Genitourinary
Overall	14^8,10-22	17689	2631	8.74 (4.73–13.81)	99.1
Men	2^10,15	2993	814	27.14 (25.56–28.75)	–
Women	2^10,15	4019	725	17.49 (16.33–18.68)	–
Men and women (<40 years)	1¹⁹	269	0	0.19 (0.00–0.56)	–
Men and women (≥40 years)	3^11,19,21	866	82	8.93 (0.00–35.57)	98.7
Gynecologic
Women	3^8,10,15	4289	1004	24.03 (9.44–42.70)	99.3
Vascular
Overall	13^{8,10-18,20,22,23}	16941	296	1.41 (0.73–2.30)	94.0
Men	2^10,15	2993	55	1.79 (1.34–2.30)	–
Women	2^10,15	4019	60	1.42 (1.08–1.82)	–
Men and women (≥40 years)	2^11,23	672	53	7.76 (5.84–9.92)	–
Musculoskeletal
Overall	8^{8,12,14-17,20,21}	11537	54	0.52 (0.13–1.14)	91.1
Men	1¹⁵	1540	5	0.32 (0.11–0.76)	–
Women	1¹⁵	2472	6	0.24 (0.09–0.53)	–
Metastases
Overall	7^{8,14-17,20,21}	8513	20	0.28 (0.01–0.77)	86.9
Men	1¹⁵	1540	0	0.03 (0.00–0.53)	–
Women	1¹⁵	2472	1	0.04 (0.00–0.23)	–
Miscellaneous
Overall	7^{12,14-17,20,21}	11137	6	0.05 (0.00–0.13)	21.6
Men	1¹⁵	1540	0	0.03 (0.00–0.53)	–
Women	1¹⁵	2472	0	0.02 (0.00–0.52)	–