Table 1.
Demographic, clinical, and surgical characteristics of the included studies
| First author (year) | Study design | Study population | Surgical technique (intervention / control) | Sample size (intervention / control) | Age (years, intervention / control) | Sex (male/female, intervention / control) | Baseline VAS-neck | Baseline VAS-arm | Baseline NDI | Follow-up duration (months) | Operated level(s) | Disease type | Primary outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xie Guisi (2024) [15] | Retrospective | CSR | UBE / PE | 23 / 21 | 44.4 ± 12.2 / 41.9 ± 13.8 | 13/10 / 13/8 | 3.4 ± 1.2 / 3.7 ± 0.6 | 4.4 ± 0.7 / 4.0 ± 0.5 | 23.3 ± 4.9 / 23.8 ± 4.7 | 3–12 (median 6.9) | C4–C7; single-level | Disc herniation / foraminal stenosis | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Cai Zijun (2025) [16] | Retrospective | CSR | Delta / PE | 32 / 35 | 66.37 ± 7.98 / 64.10 ± 6.22 | 18/14 / 18/17 | NR | NR | 42.04 ± 3.27 / 42.18 ± 3.56 | 12 | C4–7; single-level (predominantly C5–6) | Disc herniation / foraminal stenosis | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Zhang (2025) [17] | Retrospective | CSR | PE / UBE | 40 / 30 | 52.5 ± 8.9 / 49.9 ± 7.8 | 17/23 / 14/16 | NR | NR | NR | 24 | Single-level (predominantly C5–6) | Disc herniation / foraminal stenosis | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Kang (2022) [18] | Retrospective | CR | PE / UBE | 32 / 33 | 53.74 ± 8.50 / 52.68 ± 9.56 | 10/22 / 11/22 | 6.18 ± 0.96 / 6.21 ± 0.79 | 7.84 ± 0.66 / 7.92 ± 0.61 | 56.48 ± 6.03 / 57.31 ± 5.87 | 12 | C4–T1; single-level | Foraminal disc herniation / stenosis | 1,2,5 |
| Wang (2023) [19] | Retrospective | CSR | UBE / PE | 89 / 65 | 58.28 ± 11.94 / 60.10 ± 9.69 | 42/47 / 28/37 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Kim (2022) [20] | Retrospective | CR | PE / UBE | 38 / 30 | 55.3 ± 9.1 / 52.3 ± 12.0 | 27/11 / 21/9 | 6.5 ± 1.1 / 4.3 ± 1.6 | 7.4 ± 0.8 / 7.6 ± 0.7 | 22.3 ± 3.9 / 26.2 ± 2.5 | 10.0 ± 3.9 / 11.7 ± 6.4 | C4–T1; single-level (predominantly C5–6) | Foraminal stenosis–related CR | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Zhao Chendong (2023) [21] | Retrospective | CSR | Delta / UBE | 25 / 25 | NR | NR | NR | NR | 30.80 ± 5.34 / 30.12 ± 5.36 | ≥ 12 | C4–7; single-level (predominantly C5–6) | Foraminal stenosis–related CR | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Yu Xiankai (2023) [22] | Retrospective | CSR | UBE / PE | 32 / 30 | 53.37 ± 7.16 / 53.70 ± 6.35 | 13/19 / 15/15 | NR | NR | 37.78 ± 2.43 / 38.33 ± 2.35 | 17.30 ± 2.73 | C5–6 or C6–7; single-level | Disc herniation–related CSR | 1,4,5 |
| Yan Meijun (2023) [23] | Retrospective | CSR | PE / UBE | 21 / 19 | 43.19 ± 9.83 / 45.05 ± 10.73 | 11/10 / 8/11 | NR | NR | NR | 6 | C4–7; single-level (predominantly C5–6) | Disc herniation / foraminal stenosis | 1,2,3,4 |
| Zhong (2023) [24] | Retrospective | CR | UBE / PE | 36/ 33 | NR | 20/16 / 18/15 | 5.94 ± 0.83 / 6.36 ± 0.70 | 6.81 ± 0.86 / 6.64 ± 0.96 | 34.56 ± 3.42 / 34.15 ± 2.31 | NR | C3–T1; single-level (predominantly C5–6, C6–7) | Disc herniation / foraminal stenosis | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Tang (2024) [25] | Retrospective | CSR | UBE / PE | 71 / 89 | 60.23 ± 11.34 / 57.12 ± 10.87 | 41/30 / 54/35 | 8.01 ± 0.35 / 7.99 ± 0.51 | 6.59 ± 1.01 / 6.92 ± 0.91 | 41.85 ± 5.12 / 38.47 ± 4.68 | 18.12 ± 5.78 / 19.24 ± 6.11 | C4–7; single-level | Disc herniation / foraminal stenosis | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Huang Pengbo (2026) [26] | Retrospective study | Cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR) | PE/ UBE | 47 / 43 | 52.71 ± 8.65 / 51.63 ± 9.24 | 18/29 / 15/28 | 5.39 ± 1.26 / 5.46 ± 1.17 | 7.52 ± 0.45 / 7.59 ± 0.61 | 40.74 ± 4.23 / 39.58 ± 4.57 | 12 months | C4–5, C5–6, and C6–7; single-level | CSR associated with unilateral foraminal stenosis combined with cervical disc herniation | 1.2.3.4.5 |
CSR, cervical spondylotic radiculopathy; CR, cervical radiculopathy; NR, not reported. Primary outcomes: 1, operative time; 2, VAS-neck; 3, VAS-arm; 4, NDI; 5, complications