title: Extraspinal Incidental Findings on Routine MRI of Lumbar Spine: Prevalence and Reporting Rates in 1278 Patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and reporting rate of incidental findings (IF) in adult outpatients undergoing lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Re-evaluation of a total of 1278 lumbar MRI images (collected from patients with a mean age of 50.5 years, range 16-91 years) captured between August 2010-August 2011 was done by a neuroradiologist and a musculoskeletal radiologist. IFs were classified according to organ or system (liver, gallbladder, kidney, bladder, uterus, ovary, lymph node, intestine and aorta). The rate of reporting of a range of IF was examined. The outcome of each patient's treatment was evaluated based on review of hospital records and by telephone interviews.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 253 IFs were found in 241 patients (18.8% of 1278). Among these, clinically significant IFs (n = 34) included: 2 renal masses (0.15%), 2 aortic aneurysms (0.15%), 2 cases of hydronephrosis (0.15%), 11 adrenal masses (0.86%), 7 lymphadenopathies (0.55%), 6 cases of endometrial or cervical thickening (0.47%), 1 liver hemangioma (0.08%), 1 pelvic fluid (0.08%) and 2 ovarian dermoid cysts (0.15%). Overall, 28% (71/253) of IFs were included in the clinical reports, while clinically significant findings were reported in 41% (14/34) of cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Extraspinal IFs are commonly detected during a routine lumbar MRI, and many of these findings are not clinically significant. However, IFs including clinically important findings are occasionally omitted from formal radiological reports.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Trakya University Faculty of Medicine, Balkan Campus, Edirne 22000, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sedat Alpaslan
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Tuncel
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Trakya University Faculty of Medicine, Balkan Campus, Edirne 22000, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bekir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Çaglı
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Trakya University Faculty of Medicine, Balkan Campus, Edirne 22000, Turkey.
authors.forename: Aslan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tekataş
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Trakya University Faculty of Medicine, Balkan Campus, Edirne 22000, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Yadigar
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Kırıcı
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Trakya University Faculty of Medicine, Balkan Campus, Edirne 22000, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ercüment
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ünlü
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Trakya University Faculty of Medicine, Balkan Campus, Edirne 22000, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gençhellaç
mesh_terms: D000008:Abdominal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033162:Incidental Findings; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology*; D008161:Lumbosacral Region / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010388:Pelvis / Q000473:pathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Extra-spinal findings; Incidental findings; Lumbar spine; Magnetic resonance imaging