Factors influencing the occurrence of a T2-STIR hypersignal in the lumbosacral adipose tissue.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of our study is to determine whether there is a relation between overweight, age, sex, "hospitalised/outpatient" status and a non-inflammatory hypersignal of the subcutaneous lumbosacral adipose tissue in T2 Short-Tau Inversion-Recovery (T2-STIR) MR imaging sequences.


METHODS
One hundred and six lumbar MRI, including a T2-STIR and T1 Fluid Attenuated Inversion-Recovery (FLAIR) weighted sagittal sequences, were retrospectively taken from the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) of our hospital and then made anonymous and analysed. The presence or absence of a T2-STIR hypersignal within subcutaneous adipose tissue behind the paraspinal muscle aponeurosis was determined. In addition, the weight, thickness of the fat tissue, the administrative status of the patient, the age, sex, time of the examination and, when present, the height of this hypersignal were noted. A uni- and multivariate analysis by logistic regression was carried out in order to examine the relationship between the data gathered.


RESULTS
In the examinations selected, 25.5% (n=27) demonstrated a T2-STIR hypersignal in the subcutaneous tissue. We identified the weight (P<0.023), thickness of the fat tissue (P<0.001), the age of the patient (P<0.017) and the "hospitalised" status (P<0.009) as significant variables associated with this T2-STIR hypersignal. The mean height of the hypersignal was 109.5mm. Five of the 27 patients had an injection of gadolinium chelate and no enhancement was found at this level.


CONCLUSIONS
We found a significant link between overweight, age and "hospitalised" status and the non-inflammatory infiltration of lumbar adipose tissue. This phenomenon seems to correspond with an interstitial oedema, related to subcutaneous stasis. This anomaly should not be confused with a local inflammation.
Service d'imagerie médicale, hôpital la Cavale-Blanche, CHU de Brest, boulevard Tanguy-Prigent, 29609 Brest cedex, France.
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Genu
Service d'imagerie médicale, hôpital la Cavale-Blanche, CHU de Brest, boulevard Tanguy-Prigent, 29609 Brest cedex, France.
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Koch
Service d'imagerie médicale, hôpital la Cavale-Blanche, CHU de Brest, boulevard Tanguy-Prigent, 29609 Brest cedex, France.
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Colin
Service d'épidémiologie, CHU de Dijon, 14, rue Paul-Gaffarel, 21079 Dijon, France.
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Aho
Service d'imagerie médicale, hôpital la Cavale-Blanche, CHU de Brest, boulevard Tanguy-Prigent, 29609 Brest cedex, France.
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Pearson
Service d'imagerie médicale, hôpital la Cavale-Blanche, CHU de Brest, boulevard Tanguy-Prigent, 29609 Brest cedex, France; GETBO (EA3878), université de Bretagne Occidentale, boulevard Tanguy-Prigent, 29609 Brest cedex, France. Electronic address: douraied.bensalem@chu-brest.fr.
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Ben Salem
D000367:Age Factors; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D016477:Artifacts; D004487:Edema / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000473:pathology*; D011873:Radiology Information Systems; D012447:Sacrum / Q000473:pathology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012984:Software; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D050151:Subcutaneous Fat / Q000473:pathology*
Edema; Lumbar spine; Overweight; STIR; Subcutaneous fat