Lumbosacral transitional vertebrae: prevalence and morphological types in three dimentional abdominal-pelvic computed tomography scan in a nigerian population

Background: The lumbosacral spine plays a crucial role in posture, locomotion and transmission of upper body weight to Sacro-iliac (SI) joints. The dissipation of load by sacrum depends on its size and its surface area with the SI joint. Accurate identification of the spinal level in spinal surgery is very crucial because operating on the wrong level can result in catastrophic consequences for the patient. The presence of Lumbosacral Transitional Vertebrae (LSTV) can make this task more dif? cult, which is why it is essential to comprehend theprevalence of this condition in our environment. We hence sought to establish the prevalence and morphological types of lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV) in a Nigerian population.Methods: This is a hospital base retrospective study that reviewed 301 patients who had abdominal-pelvic CT scans at a private radiodiagnostic center in Jos, North Central Nigeria for different clinical reasons. A 3D volume rendered reconstruction of the lumbosacral spine was obtained using a Siemens Somatom Sensation 64 slides CT scan machine. Lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV) were thenidentified and classified according to Castellvi et al. (1984): Types I, II, III, and IV with unilateral (A) or bilateral (B) subtypes. The data obtained were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS version 23.0. Armonk, NY, USA).Results: The overall prevalence of LSTV in the study population was 26.6% (80) and the most prevalent morphological type is Type IB accounting for 40.0% (32) followed closely by Type IA 25.0% (20) and the least is Type IV accounting for 2.5 % (2). The prevalence by age and gender revealed age group 41-60 and male gender being the most affected.Conclusion: Lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV) are a common congenital spinal anatomical anomaly in our population with a prevalence of 26.6%. It is important for the surgeons and other clinicians to be conversant with it so as to avoid any signi? cant implications in spinal surgery.