More articles from Spine Imaging and Spine Image-Guided Interventions
- Clinical and Radiologic Characteristics of Deep Lumbosacral Dural Arteriovenous Fistulas
Twenty patients with deep lumbosacral spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas were included in this series. Cord T2 hyperintensity and contrast enhancement were present in most cases. The filum vein and/or lumbar veins were dilated in 95% of patients. Time-resolved contrast-enhanced dynamic MRA indicated a spinal DAVF at or below the L5 vertebral level in 7/8 (88%) patients who received time-resolved contrast-enhanced dynamic MRA before DSA. A bilateral arterial supply of the fistula was detected via DSA in 5 (25%) patients. The authors conclude that time-resolved contrast-enhanced dynamic MRA facilitates the detection of the drainage vein and helps to localize deep lumbosacral-located fistulas with a high sensitivity before DSA. Definite detection remains challenging and requires conventional spinal angiography.
- Localizing the L5 Vertebra Using Nerve Morphology on MRI: An Accurate and Reliable Technique
The authors sought to determine whether the L5 vertebra could be accurately localized by using nerve morphology on MR imaging. A sample of 108 cases with full spine MR imaging were numbered from the C2 vertebral body to the sacrum. The reference standard of numbering by full spine imaging was compared with the nerve morphology numbering method with 5 blinded raters. The percentage of perfect agreement with the reference standard was 98.1%, which was preserved in transitional and numeric variation states. The iliolumbar ligament localization method showed 83.3% perfect agreement with the reference standard.