Complete Sankey diagram
Description
Sankey diagram showing the clustering of all ninety-two combinations On the left x axis, the first author of the included study is depicted. Each curved line represents a study. The width of the curves is proportional to the number of patients with NVO and its synonyms included, reaching the middle x axis (year of publication). From years of publication axis, until the right x axis (showing the possible combinations of diagnostic criteria), curves are not anymore proportional to the number of patients, to improve readability. Diagnostic criteria combination data legend: 1- Clinical features (symptoms, signs, patient history) 2- Inflammatory biomarkers (CRP; ESR; WBC) 3- MRI (with or without contrast medium) 4- Other imaging techniques (plain films, CT scan, PET/CT, scintigraphy or other nuclear medicine technique) 5- Microbiological evidence from blood cultures 6- Microbiological evidence from spinal cultures 7- Histopathology 8- Clinical improvement after antimicrobial treatment