Letter to the Editor concerning “Factors associated with the increased risk of atlantoaxial osteoarthritis: a retrospective study” by Suga Y, et al. (Eur Spine J; 2022: doi 10.1007/s00586-022-07414-5)

Excerpt

We discussed the article by Yuma Suga, et al. “Factors associated with the increased risk of atlantoaxial osteoarthritis: a retrospective study” with great interest in our recent departmental Journal Club Meeting [1]. We congratulate the authors for their excellent work. Neck pain is a common condition among the general population. Atlantoaxial joint osteoarthritis (OA) is a common cause of neck pain and suboccipital headache [2, 3]. The authors have attempted to investigate the factors related to the increased risk of atlantoaxial osteoarthritis (AAOA). Based upon computed tomography (CT) images of the upper cervical spine, the atlantoaxial osteoarthritis was quantified into various grades. It was concluded using the multivariable logistic regression analysis that age in the sixth decade or older, calcification of the transverse ligament, female gender, and not having atlantodens osteoarthritis were significantly associated with increased risk of atlantoaxial osteoarthritis and thus delayed diagnosis and treatment of the condition can be avoided by focusing on these risk factors. …