Lumbosacral transitional vertebra in spondylolisthesis: frequency, demographic findings, and clinical characteristics

Table 1 Comparison of patients’ Demographics and Morphological Spinal Features between no LSTV, Sacralization, and Lumbarization groups

Variables	No LSTV (n = 152)	Sacralization (n = 57)	Lumbarization (n = 10)	P-value
Age (year), mean ± SD*	57.6 ± 11	56.3 ± 11.3	52.9 ± 9.7	0.362
M/F** (n)	66/86	14/43	5/5	0.034
% of female	56.6	75.4	50.0	0.034
Level of spondylolisthesis^a, n (%)
L1-L2	0	0	0	0.001
L2-L3	2 (1.3)	0	0
L3-L4	9(5.9)	7(12.3)	0
L4-L5/L5*	38 (25)	40(70.2)	0
L5/L5*-S1	103(67.8)	10(17.5)	0
L5-L6	–	–	10(100)
L6-nS1	–	–	0
Grade of listhesis, n (%)
I	101(66.5)	25(43.9)	6(60)	0.053
II	49(32.2)	30(52.6)	4 (40)
III	2(1.3)	2(3.5)	0
IV	0	0	0
V	0	0	0
Castellvi classification^b, n (%)
Ia	–	29(50.9)	0	0.001
Ib	–	23(40.4)	0
IIa	–	3(5.3)	0
IIb	–	0	5(50)
IIIa	–	1(1.8)	0
IIIb	–	1(1.8)	3 (30)
IV	–	0	2 (20)

a; The L5-L6 and L6-nS1 levels are only defined for the lumbarization group due to the presence of an additional lumbar vertebra which is actually the previous S1 vertebra defined in the normal anatomical state and is now called the L6 vertebra. The nS1 vertebra is the previous S2 segment in the normal anatomical state, but in the lumbarized state, it is the new S1. The L5* denotes the sacralized L5 vertebra in the sacralization group. b; The Castellvi classification implies that the LSTV states classify the anatomical connection varieties at the junction of the lumbar spine and sacrum; therefore, it is not defined for the no LSTV group. As expected, the difference in the Castellvi classification between sacralization and Lumbarization groups was significant, which reflects the natural difference in the development of spinal vertebrae in these two states. ^*M: male, F: female, ^**SD: standard deviation. P-value < 0.05 is statistically significant

ISSN: 1471-2474