Incorporation of Whole Spine Screening in Magnetic Resonance Imaging Protocols for Low Back Pain: A Valuable Addition.
10.4184/asj.2017.11.5.700
- Author:
Akhilesh RAO
1
;
Atul MISHRA
;
Yayati PIMPALWAR
;
Ravinder SAHDEV
;
Neha YADU
Author Information
1. Department of Radiodiagnosis & Imaging, Command Hospital (CC), Lucknow, India. raoakhilesh@yahoo.com
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Magnetic resonance imaging;
Low back pain;
Lumbar spine;
Compression fracture;
Spinal cord screening
- MeSH:
Arm;
Delivery of Health Care;
Diagnosis;
Female;
Fractures, Compression;
Humans;
Incidental Findings;
Intervertebral Disc;
Low Back Pain*;
Magnetic Resonance Imaging*;
Male;
Mass Screening*;
Pathology;
Retrospective Studies;
Spine*;
Tertiary Healthcare
- From:Asian Spine Journal
2017;11(5):700-705
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective review of lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies conducted at the Department of Radiodiagnosis & Imaging of a Tertiary Care Armed Forces Hospital between May 2014 and May 2016. PURPOSE: To assess the advantages of incorporating sagittal screening of the whole spine in protocols for conventional lumbar spine MRI for patients presenting with low back pain. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Advances in MRI have resulted in faster examinations, particularly for patients with low back pain. The additional detection of incidental abnormalities on MRI helps to improve patient outcomes by providing a swifter definitive diagnosis. Because low back pain is extremely common, any change to the diagnostic and treatment approach has a significant impact on health care resources. METHODS: We documented all additional incidental findings detected on sagittal screenings of the spine that were of clinical significance and would otherwise have been undiagnosed. RESULTS: A total of 1,837 patients who met our inclusion criteria underwent MRI of the lumbar spine. The mean age of the study population was 45.7 years; 66.8% were men and 33.2% women. Approximately 26.7% of the patients were diagnosed with incidental findings. These included determining the level of indeterminate vertebrae, incidental findings of space-occupying lesions of the cervicothoracic spine, myelomalacic changes, and compression fractures at cervicothoracic levels. CONCLUSIONS: We propose that T2-weighted sagittal screening of the whole spine be included as a routine sequence when imaging the lumbosacral spine for suspected degenerative pathology of the intervertebral discs.
