Figure 1. Classification tree (N=81) to predict a type of deformation (kyphosis) after surgery (target variable) Decision tree analysis was performed to test nonlinear relationships among a series of explanatory variables and a binary, categorical response variable. All possible separations (categorical) or cut points (quantitative) are tested. For the present analyses, the entropy “goodness of split” criterion was used to grow the tree and a cost complexity algorithm was used for pruning the full tree into a final subtree.