- Diffusion Tensor Imaging Correlates with the Clinical Assessment of Disease Severity in Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy and Predicts Outcome following Surgery
The relationship between DTI findings and clinical severity of cervical myelopathy due to spondylosis was studied in 30 patients. Low fractional anisotropy correlated with initial clinical assessments and patients with high FA showed better outcome. T2 signal intensity was associated with functional status but did not predict outcome whereas degree of stenosis lacked correlation with all clinical parameters. Thus, DTI may be a useful diagnostic tool for assessing disease severity in these patients and its predictive value regarding postoperative outcome may improve surgical decision making.
- Cervical Spine MR Imaging Findings of Patients with Hirayama Disease in North America: A Multisite Study
The authors sought to determine if Hirayama disease in North America has the same imaging findings as it does in Asia. They assessed imaging studies in 21 patients and looked for loss of attachment of posterior dura, lower cord atrophy and high T2 signal, loss of cervical lordosis, and anterior dural shift in flexion. These 4 findings were able to discriminate patients from healthy controls. MR imaging findings in white North American patients with Hirayama disease include loss of attachment on neutral images and forward displacement of the dura with flexion. Findings are often present on neutral MR images and, in the appropriate clinical scenario, should prompt flexion MR imaging to evaluate anterior dural shift.
- Trends in Spinal Pain Management Injections in Academic Radiology Departments
Through a survey sent to 186 academic departments of radiology, the authors sought to determine patterns of spinal pain management injections by neuroradiologists. Twenty-one percent of surveys were completed showing that over 50% of departments were involved in this type of procedure with the number of procedures remaining stable during the past 5 years in most locations. The majority of referrals came from orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, and neurologists. The most common procedures were epidural steroid injections, nerve root blocks, facet injections, and synovial cyst aspirations. Most fellows and more than 50% of residents were considered to have achieved proficiency in these procedures during their training.
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