Complete Sankey diagram

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