Diagnosis of cervical disc disease. MRI versus cervical myelography.
In a prospective study of 63 surgical patients cervical myelography was compared with MRI to establish the relative value of the 2 diagnostic procedures in patient selection for surgery of ruptured cervical discs and bony nerve root compression. While MRI in the T1-weighted and gradient echo modes matched the diagnostic accuracy of invasive myelography (95%), T1 and T2-weighted MRI images alone were associated with an error rate of 10%. In patients with medial protrusion myelography did not always show the true extent of compression, whereas MRI tended to miss small laterally protruding disc fragments. Cervical myelography continues to have a place in the diagnosis of cervical disc disease, whenever clinical signs and symptoms do not agree with MRI data.
Perneczky
G
G
Neurosurgical Department, Krankenanstalt Rudolfstiftung, Wien, Austria.
Böck
F W
FW
Neuhold
A
A
Stiskal
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009192:Myelography; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D010007:Osteochondritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis