title: Frequency of Magnetic Resonance Imaging patterns of tuberculous spondylitis in a public sector hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine frequencies of different MRI patterns of tuberculous spondylitisin a public sector hospital in Karachi.
  
  
  METHODS
  This descriptive multidisciplinary case series study was done from October 25, 2011 to May 28, 2012 in Radiology Department and Department of Medicine in the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center Karachi. MRI scans (dorsal / lumbosacral spine) of the Patients presenting with backache in Medical OPD, were performed in Radiology Department. Axial and sagittal images of T1 weighted, T2 weighted and STIR sequences of the affected region were taken. A total of 140 patients who were diagnosed as having tuberculous spondylitis were further evaluated and analyzed for having different patterns of involvement of the spine and compared with similar studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among frequencies of different MRI pattern of tuberculous spondylitis, contiguous vertebral involvement was 100%, discal involvement 98.6%, paravertebral abscess 92.1% cases, epidural abscess 91.4%, spinal cord / thecal sac compression 89.3%, vertebral collapse 72.9%, gibbus deformity 42.9% and psoas abscess 36.4%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contiguous vertebral involvement was commonest MRI pattern, followed by disk involvement, paravertebral & epidural abscesses, thecal sac compression and vertebral collapse.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Sumera Tabassum, MBBS, FCPS, Consultant Radiologist, Department of Radiology, Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Sumera
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tabassum
authors.affiliation: Dr. Shahbaz Haider, MBBS, FCPS, Senior Registrar, Medical Unit IV, Ward 23, Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Shahbaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haider
keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging; Spondylitis; Tuberculous