The effect of retroaortic left renal vein on lumbar osteophytes formation.

Purpose: Assess whether a Retroaortic left renal vein (RLRV) affects vertebral osteophyte formation in the lumbar spine, compared to normal anatomy left renal vein.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective case-control study. Computed tomography (CT) scans of individuals with a RLRV (study group) were compared to age- and gender-matched normal anatomy CT scans (control group). L1 to L4 vertebral levels were appreciated for: left renal vein level, osteophyte presence and the aorta-vertebral distance (AVD) at the left renal vein level. Univariate analyses were conducted using Chi-square test and Fisher's test for categorical variables, and Student's t-test for continuous variables. Logistic regression was used for multivariate analyses.
Results: A total of 240 patients were included in the study - equally distributed between the study and control groups. Normal anatomy left renal veins traversed the spine only at the L1 and L2 levels. RLRVs traversed the spine in all L1-L4 levels, mostly at the L3 and L2. Osteophyte prevalence at the level of left renal vein was significantly higher in the study group, compared with the control group [OR 2.54, P = 0.01]. Mean AVD was greater in the study group [9.2 mm ±3.6 mm Vs. 3.5 mm ± 2.6 mm, P < 0.001]. Increased AVD was found to be associated with a higher chance of osteophyte presence at the level of the left renal vein [OR 1.282, P = 0.025].
Conclusions: Osteophytes are more prevalent at the level of the RLRV variant compared to the normal anatomy. Furthermore, the RLRV is characterized by a lower lumbar level compared to the normal anatomy.
Clinical Relevance Statement: This anatomic variation could assist in further understanding of osteophyte formation.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)