More articles from SPINE
- Localizing the L5 Vertebra Using Nerve Morphology on MRI: An Accurate and Reliable Technique
The authors sought to determine whether the L5 vertebra could be accurately localized by using nerve morphology on MR imaging. A sample of 108 cases with full spine MR imaging were numbered from the C2 vertebral body to the sacrum. The reference standard of numbering by full spine imaging was compared with the nerve morphology numbering method with 5 blinded raters. The percentage of perfect agreement with the reference standard was 98.1%, which was preserved in transitional and numeric variation states. The iliolumbar ligament localization method showed 83.3% perfect agreement with the reference standard.
- Analysis of 30 Spinal Angiograms Falsely Reported as Normal in 18 Patients with Subsequently Documented Spinal Vascular Malformations
Eighteen patients with 19 lesions underwent a total of 30 negative spinal angiograms. The lesions included 9 epidural arteriovenous fistulas, 8 dural arteriovenous fistulas, and 2 perimedullary arteriovenous fistulas. Seventeen patients underwent endovascular (11) or surgical (6) treatment, with a delay ranging between 1 week and 32 months; the Aminoff-Logue score improved in 76.5%. Causes of the inadequate results included: 1) lesion angiographically documented but not identified (55.6%); 2) region of interest not documented (29.6%); or 3) level investigated but injection technically inadequate (14.8%). All the angiograms falsely reported as normal were caused by correctible, operator-dependent factors.