Anatomical study and meta-analysis of the episternal ossicles

Episternal ossicles (EO) are accessory bones located superior and posterior to the manubrium, representing an anatomical variation in the thoracic region. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and developmental aspects of EO in global populations. The prevalence of EO in pediatric populations was assessed using the “Pediatric-CT-SEG” open-access data set obtained from The Cancer Imaging Archive, revealing a single incidence of EO among 233 subjects, occurring in a 14-year-old patient. A meta-analysis was conducted using data from 16 studies (from 14 publications) through three electronic databases (Google Scholar, PubMed, and Journal Storage) encompassing 7997 subjects. An overall EO prevalence was 2.1% (95% CI 1.1–3.0%, I² = 93.75%). Subgroup analyses by continent and diagnostic methods were carried out. Asia exhibited the highest prevalence of EO at 3.8% (95% CI 0.3–7.5%, I² = 96.83%), and X-ray yielded the highest prevalence of 0.7% (95% CI 0.5–8.9%, I² = 0.00%) compared with other modalities. The small-study effect was indicated by asymmetric funnel plots (Egger’s z = 4.78, p < 0.01; Begg’s z = 2.30, p = 0.02). Understanding the prevalence and developmental aspects of EO is crucial for clinical practitioners' awareness of this anatomical variation.