Appearance of osteoporotic compression fracture of the vertebrae on para-sagittal images of MR imaging

It is often difficult for clinicians to diagnose osteoporotic fresh compression vertebral fracture on X-ray of patients with spondylosis deformans and multiple old compression fractures. To prevent neurological compromise due to delayed vertebral collapse after fracture, the initial diagnosis and therapy are very improtant. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is very sensitive for detecting these fractures. T1 weighted images with low signal intensity are more sensitive than T2 weighted images with high signal intensity. We retrospectively studied the T1 weighted images of 48 fresh fractures in 45 patients. Fractures were classified into two types fom biomechanical studies. In type A, the range of low intensity was in the anterior column on para-sagittal images, and these images showed little collapse and patients had good outcome. In type M, the range of low intensity reached to the middle column, and images often showed collapsed vertebrae. Type M patients should be carefully treated. Initial MRI diagnosis of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture is very usefull for deciding therapeutic strategy.

脊椎

骨粗鬆症

圧迫骨折

磁気共鳴画像

本文データは山口大学医学会の許諾に基づきCiNiiから複製したものである