Methods:
The insertion angles of 87 pedicle screws inserted using CT-based navigation in the subaxial cervical spine were measured in the postoperative CT. The screw positioning was determined according to the modified Gertzbein and Robbins classification.
Results:
Total 89.3% (n=78) of the pedicle screws inserted using CT-based navigation showed good placement. The mean insertion angle of the pedicle screws that showed good positioning was 29.9°±9.9°. The pedicle screws showing bad positioning had a mean insertion angle of 26.8°±10.5° (p=0.157). The interobserver reliability showed a reliable measurement intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.994 (95% confidence interval, 0.992–0.996).
Conclusions
The present results show that the insertion angle of the pedicle screws in the subaxial cervical spine was smaller than the actual pedicle transverse angle, as per the literature. One reason for this discrepancy could be that the navigation systems allow the insertion of cervical pedicle screws with a lower convergence.