Table 1.

Studies comparing minimally invasive with conventionally open dorsal pedicle screw fixation in patients with traumatic thoracolumbar fractures.

Authors, Year Reference No	Study design Level of Evidence	AO Classification Level of fracture Neurological deficit Number Segment stabilized	Sample size	Assessment	Follow-up months ±SD (range)	Findings
Cawley et al. 2014 [63]	non-randomized prospective comparative LoE III	A3 L1-L5 no bi- or multisegmental	12	Needle EMG USI LM CSA	minimum 6 MIS: 25±12 CO: 12±5	more pronounced denervation in CO vs. MIS significant at adjacent levels
Grass et al. 2006 [66]	non-randomized prospective controlled clinical trial LoE IIa	A2/A3/B1/B2 T12-L4 no information mono- or bisegmental	57	Needle EMG	8.3 (4-18)	polyphasic potentials = drop-out of numerous motor units MIS < 20% vs. CO > 80%
Wild et al. 2007 [9]	non-randomized retrospective case control study LoE III	A1/A2/A3 T12-L2 no no information	21	Hannover Spine Score SF-36	67.9±8 (54-85)	MIS better Outcome CO in all dimensions but no significant differences
Ntilikina et al. 2017 [16]	non-random. retrospective comparative LoE III	A2/A3/B1/B2 T7-L5 no no information	92	MRI: CSA & signal intensity	12	Significant bigger CSA in the MIS group compared to CO

SD= standard deviation, MIS minimally invasive stabilization, CO conventionally open, USI= Ultrasound Imaging, EMG= Electromyography, LM= lumbar multifidus muscle, CSA= cross sectional area, SF-36= Short Form Health survey, LoE= Level of Evidence.