Types and prevalence of coexisting spine lesions on whole spine sagittal MR images in surgical degenerative spinal diseases.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated types and prevalence of coexisting lesions found on whole spine sagittal T2-weighted images (WSST2I) acquired from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and evaluated their clinical significance in surgical degenerative spinal diseases.


METHODS
Coexisting spinal lesions were investigated using WSST2I from 306 consecutive patients with surgical degenerative spinal diseases. Severity of coexisting lesions was classified into four grades (0-3). Lesions of grade 2 and 3 were defined as "meaningful coexisting spine lesions" (MCSL). Degenerative spinal diseases were classified into three pathologies: simple disc herniation, degenerative spinal stenosis, and ligament ossification disease. The relationships between MCSL, gender, age, and primary spine lesions were analyzed.


RESULTS
MCSL were found in 95 patients: a prevalence of 31.1%. Five out of 95 MCSL were surgically managed. The most common types of MCSL were disc herniation with 13.1% prevalence, followed by degenerative stenosis (9.5%) and ligament ossification diseases (6.8%). Older patients (age >or= 40) showed a significantly higher prevalence of MCSL than younger patients. There was no significant difference between male and female patients. The prevalence of MCSL was significantly higher (52.4%) in ligament ossification diseases than in disc herniation or spinal stenosis.


CONCLUSIONS
Degenerative spinal diseases showed a high prevalence of MCSL, especially in old ages and ligament ossification diseases. WSST2I is useful for diagnosing coexisting spinal diseases and to avoid missing a significant cord-compressing lesion.
Han
In-Ho
IH
Department of Neurosurgery, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
Suh
Sang-Hyun
SH
Kuh
Sung-Uk
SU
Chin
Dong-Kyu
DK
Kim
Keun Su
KS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000175:diagnosis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D055815:Young Adult