title: Diagnosis of Nerve Root Compromise of the Lumbar Spine: Evaluation of the Performance of Three-dimensional Isotropic T2-weighted Turbo Spin-Echo SPACE Sequence at 3T.
abstract: To explore the performance of three-dimensional (3D) isotropic T2-weighted turbo spin-echo (TSE) sampling perfection with application optimized contrasts using different flip angle evolution (SPACE) sequence on a 3T system, for the evaluation of nerve root compromise by disc herniation or stenosis from central to extraforaminal location of the lumbar spine, when used alone or in combination with conventional two-dimensional (2D) TSE sequence.
  
  
  
  Thirty-seven patients who had undergone 3T spine MRI including 2D and 3D sequences, and had subsequent spine surgery for nerve root compromise at a total of 39 nerve levels, were analyzed. A total of 78 nerve roots (48 symptomatic and 30 asymptomatic sites) were graded (0 to 3) using different MRI sets of 2D, 3D (axial plus sagittal), 3D (all planes), and combination of 2D and 3D sequences, with respect to the nerve root compromise caused by posterior disc herniations, lateral recess stenoses, neural foraminal stenoses, or extraforaminal disc herniations; grading was done independently by two readers. Diagnostic performance was compared between different imaging sets using the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis.
  
  
  
  There were no statistically significant differences (p= 0.203 to > 0.999) in the ROC curve area between the imaging sets for both readers 1 and 2, except for combined 2D and 3D (0.843) vs. 2D (0.802) for reader 1 (p= 0.035), and combined 2D and 3D (0.820) vs. 3D including all planes (0.765) for reader 2 (p= 0.049).
  
  
  
  The performance of 3D isotropic T2-weighted TSE sequence of the lumbar spine, whether axial plus sagittal images, or all planes of images, was not significantly different from that of 2D TSE sequences, for the evaluation of nerve root compromise of the lumbar spine. Combining 2D and 3D might possibly improve the diagnostic accuracy compared with either one.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea.
authors.forename: Jinkyeong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea.
authors.forename: Won-Hee
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Jee
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea.
authors.forename: Joon-Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea.
authors.forename: Jinhee
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Sung
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Hoon
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea.
authors.forename: Kee-Yong
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Ha
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019540:Area Under Curve; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media
keywords: Diagnosis; Isotropic; Lumbar spine; Magnetic resonance imaging; Nerve root compromise; Sampling perfection with application optimized contrasts using different flip angle evolution (SPACE)