Table 3. Statistical analysis of RLN palsy rates for single-level and multiple-level ACDF according to follow-up subgroups.
| Follow-up | Author & year | Multiple-level ACDF | Single-level ACDF | OR | 95% CI | Weight (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Total | Event | Total | ||||||
| <12 months | Kilburg et al., 2006 | 3 | 87 | 5 | 331 | 2.33 | 0.55–9.94 | 18.5 | |
| Nanda et al., 2014 | 0 | 550 | 2 | 1,026 | 0.37 | 0.02–7.77 | 4.2 | ||
| Lied et al., 2008 | 1 | 150 | 0 | 240 | 4.83 | 0.20–119.24 | 3.8 | ||
| Fixed effect model | 4 | 787 | 7 | 1,597 | 1.93 | 0.57–6.49 | 26.5 | ||
| >12 months | Fountas et al., 2007 | 12 | 542 | 14 | 473 | 0.74 | 0.34–1.62 | 63.8 | |
| Yang et al., 2016 | 2 | 41 | 2 | 74 | 1.85 | 0.25–13.62 | 9.7 | ||
| Fixed effect model | 14 | 583 | 16 | 547 | 0.84 | 0.40–1.73 | 73.5 | ||
RLN, recurrent laryngeal nerve; ACDF, anterior cervical discectomy and fusion; OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.