Traumatic low lumbar fractures: How often MRI changes the fracture classification or clinical decision-making compared to CT alone?
Mohamed M. Aly, Abdulbaset M. Al-Shoaibi, Saleh Abduraba, Ahmed J. Alzahrani, Hany Eldawoody
January 2022, Volume 31, Issue 1, pp 37 - 45 Original Article Read Full Article 10.1007/s00586-021-06987-x
First Online: 08 October 2021
Purpose
To determine the impact of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on fracture classification for low lumbar fractures (LLFs) compared to CT alone.
Methods
This study was a retrospective review of 41 consecutive patients with LLFs who underwent CT and MRI within 10 days of injury. Three reviewers classified all fractures according to AOSpine Classification and the Thoracolumbar Injury Classification (TLISS). Posterior ligamentous complex (PLC) injury in MRI was defined by black stripe discontinuity and in CT by the presence of: vertebral body translation, facet joint malalignment, horizontal laminar or spinous process fracture, and interspinous widening. The proportion of patients with AO type A/B/C and with TLISS
Results
AO classification using CT was: AO type A in 26 patients (61%), type B in 7 patients (17%), and type C in 8 patients (22%). Seventeen patients (41%) had a TLISS ≥ 5 while 24 (59%) had TLISS
Conclusions
CT was highly accurate (95%) for diagnosis of PLC injury in LLFs. Addition of MRI after CT did not change the AO classification or TLISS, compared to CT alone, thus suggesting limited additional value of MRI for PLC assessment or fracture classification.
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