More articles from Spine Imaging and Spine Image-Guided Interventions
- Reliability of the STIR Sequence for Acute Type II Odontoid Fractures
Because STIR images are routinely used for evaluation of the posttraumatic cervical spine, these authors specifically looked at the ability of this sequence to differentiate acute vs. chronic odontoid type II fractures in 75 patients and compared the imaging findings with an equal number of age-matched controls. STIR fared poorly in the detection of fractures in individuals over 57 years of age. Therefore, older patients, particularly those with osteopenia, may have acute odontoid injuries without corresponding STIR hyperintensity.
- Spinal Cord Injury after Blunt Cervical Spine Trauma: Correlation of Soft-Tissue Damage and Extension of Lesion
This study retrospectively evaluates whether ligamentous injury or disk disruption after spinal cord injury correlates with lesion length. Length of lesion, disk disruption, ligamentous injury association, and extent of spinal cord injury were statistically assessed. The number of ligaments affected had a positive correlation with the extension of the lesion. Thus, in cervical spine trauma, a specific pattern of ligamentous injury correlates with the length of the spinal cord lesion.