Table 2.

Outcomes of meta-analysis studies

Variable	Zhang et al. [67] (2019)	Wang et al. [49] (2019)	Hu et al. [65] (2019)
Fusion rate	NSD	NSD	NSD
Back pain VAS	NSD	NSD	NSD
Leg pain VAS	NSD	NSD	NSD
JOA score	NSD	NSD	NSD
JOA recovery rate	NM	C	NM
Patients’ satisfaction	C	C	NM
Incidence of reoperation	NM	NSD	NM
Operation time	C	C	NM
Intraoperative blood loss	C	C	C
Length of hospital day	C	C	C
Incidence of complications	Ca)	NM	NSDb)
ASD	C	C	NM
Oswestry Disability Index	C	C	NSD
Incidence of superior facet joint violation	NM	C	NM
Wound infection	NM	NSD	NM
Screw malposition	NM	NSD	NM
Incision length	NM	C	C

NSD, no significant difference; VAS, Visual Analog Scale; JOA score, Japanese Orthopaedic Association score; NM, not mentioned; C, superior outcomes in cortical bone trajectory; ASD, adjacent segment degeneration.

^a)Dural tear, screw dislocation, hematoma, wound infection, ASD, cage subsidence, and recurrent radiating pain of lower extremities.

^b)Dural tear pedicle fracture, screw malposition, hematoma, wound infection, and ASD.