Lv Y, Tian W, Chen D et al (2018) The prevalence and associated factors of symptomatic cervical spondylosis in Chinese adults: a community-based cross-sectional study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 19(1):325

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Herkowitz HN, Kurz LT, Overholt DP (1990) Surgical management of cervical soft disc herniation. A comparison between the anterior and posterior approach. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 15(10):1026–1030

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Broekema AEH, Simões de Souza NF, Soer R et al (2023) Noninferiority of posterior cervical foraminotomy vs anterior cervical discectomy with fusion for procedural success and reduction in arm pain among patients with cervical radiculopathy at 1 year: the FACET randomized clinical trial. JAMA Neurol 80(1):40–48

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Simões de Souza NF, Broekema AEH, Reneman MF et al (2024) Posterior cervical foraminotomy compared with anterior cervical discectomy with fusion for cervical radiculopathy: two-year results of the FACET randomized noninferiority study. J Bone Joint Surg Am 106(18):1653–1663

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Hernán MA, Robins JM (2016) Using big data to emulate a target trial when a randomized trial is not available. Am J Epidemiol 183(8):758–764

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Hernán MA, Wang W, Leaf DE (2022) Target trial emulation: a framework for causal inference from observational data. JAMA 328(24):2446–2447

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Franklin JM, Patorno E, Desai RJ et al (2021) Emulating randomized clinical trials with nonrandomized real-world evidence studies: first results from the RCT DUPLICATE initiative. Circulation 143(10):1002–1013

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Ren Y, Jia Y, Liu L et al (2026) Design and implementation of observational studies emulating a target trial. JAMA Netw Open 9(2):e2558262

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Fu EL, Harhay MO, Schneeweiss S, Desai RJ, Hernán MA (2026) Starting right: aligning eligibility and treatment assignment at time zero when emulating a target trial. BMJ 392:e084909

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Cashin AG, Hansford HJ, Hernán MA et al (2025) Transparent reporting of observational studies emulating a target trial, the TARGET statement. JAMA 334(12):1084–1093

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Matthews AA, Danaei G, Islam N et al (2022) Target trial emulation: applying principles of randomised trials to observational studies. BMJ 378:e071108

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Odom GL, Finney W, Woodhall B (1958) Cervical disk lesions. J Am Med Assoc 166(1):23–28

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Austin PC (2011) An introduction to propensity score methods for reducing the effects of confounding in observational studies. Multivar Behav Res 46(3):399–424

Article  Google Scholar 

Austin PC (2011) Optimal caliper widths for propensity-score matching when estimating differences in means and differences in proportions in observational studies. Pharm Stat 10(2):150–161

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Jakobsen JC, Gluud C, Wetterslev J, Winkel P (2017) When and how should multiple imputation be used for handling missing data in randomised clinical trials – a practical guide with flowcharts. BMC Med Res Methodol 17(1):162

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

VanderWeele TJ, Ding P (2017) Sensitivity analysis in observational research: introducing the E-value. Ann Intern Med 167(4):268–274

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Broekema AEH, Soer R, Reneman MF et al (2019) The Odom criteria: validated at last: a clinimetric evaluation in cervical spine surgery. J Bone Joint Surg Am 101(14):1301–1308

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Shriver MF, Lewis DJ, Kshettry VR et al (2017) Dysphagia rates after anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Global Spine J 7(1):95–103

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Wang H, Ma L, Yang D et al (2023) Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program for anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) in patients over 60 years old. Clin Interv Aging 18:1619–1627

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Ma W, Peng Y, Zhang S et al (2022) Comparison of percutaneous endoscopic cervical keyhole foraminotomy versus microscopic anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for single level unilateral cervical radiculopathy. Int J Gen Med 15:6897–6907

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Editorial Board of Chinese Journal of Surgery (2018) The experts consensus on the classification, diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of cervical spondylosis (2018). Zhonghua Wai Ke Za Zhi 56(6):401–402

Google Scholar 

Hansford HJ, Cashin AG, Jones MD et al (2023) Reporting of observational studies explicitly aiming to emulate randomized trials: a systematic review. JAMA Netw Open 6(9):e2336023

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

US Food and Drug Administration (2016) Non-inferiority clinical trials to establish effectiveness: guidance for industry. FDA, Silver Spring, MD

Google Scholar 

Bisson EF, Bydon M, Glassman SD et al (2020) Assessing the differences in characteristics of patients lost to follow-up at 2 years: results from the Quality Outcomes Database. J Neurosurg Spine 33(4):463–469

Google Scholar 

Bazaz R, Lee MJ, Yoo JU (2002) Incidence of dysphagia after anterior cervical spine surgery: a prospective study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 27(22):2453–2458

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Riley LH 3rd, Skolasky RL, Albert TJ, Vaccaro AR, Heller JG (2005) Dysphagia after anterior cervical decompression and fusion: prevalence and risk factors from a longitudinal cohort study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 30(22):2564–2569

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Smith-Hammond CA, New KC, Pietrobon R, Curtis DJ, Scharver CH, Turner DA (2004) Prospective analysis of incidence and risk factors of dysphagia in spine surgery patients: comparison of anterior cervical, posterior cervical, and lumbar procedures. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 29(13):1441–1446

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Li Y, Zheng S, Wu Y et al (2019) Trends of surgical treatment for spinal degenerative disease in China: a cohort of 37,897 inpatients from 2003 to 2016. Clin Interv Aging 14:361–366

Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Oglesby M, Fineberg SJ, Patel AA, Pelton MA, Singh K (2013) Epidemiological trends in cervical spine surgery for degenerative diseases between 2002 and 2009. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 38(14):1226–1232

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Carreon LY, Glassman SD, Campbell MJ, Anderson PA (2010) Neck Disability Index, short form-36 physical component summary, and pain scales for neck and arm pain: the minimum clinically important difference and substantial clinical benefit after cervical spine fusion. Spine J 10(6):469–474

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Young IA, Cleland JA, Michener LA, Brown C (2010) Reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness of the Neck Disability Index, Patient-Specific Functional Scale, and Numeric Pain Rating Scale in patients with cervical radiculopathy. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 89(10):831–839

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

MacDowall A, Skeppholm M, Lindhagen L et al (2018) Validation of the visual analog scale in the cervical spine. J Neurosurg Spine 28(3):227–235

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Degtiar I, Rose S (2023) A review of generalizability and transportability. Annu Rev Stat Appl 10:501–524

Article  Google Scholar 

Dahabreh IJ, Hernán MA (2019) Extending inferences from a randomized trial to a target population. Eur J Epidemiol 34(8):719–722

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Dahabreh IJ, Robertson SE, Steingrimsson JA, Stuart EA, Hernán MA (2020) Extending inferences from a randomized trial to a new target population. Stat Med 39(14):1999–2014

Article