Objective To investigate whether preoperative T1 slope (T1S) in MRI can predict the changes of cervical curvature after expansive open-door laminoplasty (EOLP) in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy, so as to make up for the shortcomings of difficult measurement in X-ray film. Methods The clinical data of 36 patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy who underwent EOLP were retrospectively analysed. There were 21 males and 15 females with an average age of 55.8 years (range, 37-73 years) and an average follow-up time of 14.3 months (range, 12-24 months). The preoperative X-ray films at dynamic position, CT, and MRI of cervical spine before operation, and the anteroposterior and lateral X-ray films at last follow-up were taken out to measure the following sagittal parameters. The parameters included C2-C7 Cobb angle and C2-C7 sagittal vertical axis (C2-C7 SVA) in all patients before operation and at last follow-up; preoperative T1S were measured in MRI, and the patients were divided into larger T1S group (T1S>19°, group A) and small T1S group (T1S≤19°, group B) according to the median of T1S, and the preoperative T1S, C2-C7 Cobb angle, C2-C7 SVA, and the C2-C7 Cobb angle and C2-C7 SVA at last follow-up, difference in axial distance (the difference of C2-C7 SVA before and after operation), postoperative curvature loss (the difference of C2-C7 Cobb angle before and after operation), the number of patients whose curvature loss was more than 5° after operation, and the number of patients whose kyphosis changed (C2-C7 Cobb angle was less than 0° after operation). Results The C2-C7 Cobb angle at last follow-up was significantly decreased when compared with preoperative value (t=8.000, P=0.000), but there was no significant difference in C2-C7 SVA between pre- and post-operation (t=–1.842, P=0.074). The preoperative T1S was (19.69±3.39)°; there were 17 cases in group A and 19 cases in group B with no significant difference in gender and age between 2 groups (P>0.05). The preoperative C2-C7 Cobb angle in group B was significantly lower than that in group A (t=–2.150, P=0.039), while there was no significant difference in preoperative C2-C7 SVA between 2 groups (t=0.206, P=0.838). At last follow-up, except for the curvature loss after operation in group B was significantly lower than that in group A (t=–2.723, P=0.010), there was no significant difference in the other indicators between 2 groups (P>0.05). Conclusion Preoperative larger T1S (T1S>19°) in MRI had a larger preoperative lordosis angle, but more postoperative physiological curvature was lost; preoperative T1S in MRI can not predict postoperative curvature loss, but preoperative larger T1S may be more prone to kyphosis.
ObjectiveTo investigate the diagnostic value of spectral saturation inversion recovery, gradient-echo chemical shift MRI， and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in quantifying hepatic fat content. MethodsConventional T1-weighted and T2-weighted scanning (without fat saturation and with fat saturation)， gradient-echo T1W in-phase （IP） and opposedphase （OP） images and 1H-MRS were performed in 31 healthy volunteers and 22 patients who were candidates for liver surgery. Signal intensities of T1WI amp; T1WIFS (SInonfat1, SIfat1), T2WI amp; T2WI-FS (SInonfat2, SIfat2), and IP amp; OP (SIin, SIout) were measured respectively, the relative signal intensity one (RSI1), relative signal intensity two (RSI2)， and fat index (FI) were calculated. Peak values and the area under peak of 1H-MRS were measured, and the relative lipid content of liver cells (RLC ) were calculated. Twenty-two patients accepted liver resection and histological examination after MRI scanning, the proportion of fatty degenerative cells were calculated by image analysis software. Results①Hepatic steatosis group showed higher average values of RSI1, FI， and RLC to non-hepatic steatosis group (Plt;0.05), while there was no significant difference in RSI2 between two groups (Pgt;0.05). ②There was a statistical significant difference in RLC among different histopathological grades of hepatic steatosis, and RLC increased in parallel with histopathological grade (Plt;0.05).There was no significant difference in RSI2, RSI1, and FI among different histopathological grades, although the latter two had a tendency of increasing concomitant with histopathological grade (Pgt;0.05). ③The values of FI and RLC were positively correlated with the PFDC （r=0468, P=0.027； r＝0771， Plt;0.000 1）, while they were not in RSI1 and RSI2 (r=0.411, P=0.057； r=0.191, P=0.392). ConclusionsSPIR, Gradient-echo chemical shift MRI and 1H-MRS can help to differentiate patients with hepatic steatosis from normal persons, the latter also can help to classify hepatic steatosis. In quantifying hepatic fat content, 1H-MRS is superior to gradient-echo chemical shift MRI, while SPIR’s role is limited.
Objective To investigate the situation of MRI examination in children in outpatient and inpatient departments of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital from 2010 to 2012, so as to provide favourable basis for the choice of imaging examination in children. Methods The materials of electronic reports of MRI examination in paediatric inpatient and outpatient departments from 2010 to 2012 were collected, categorized, and analyzed. Results a) 2 148 children underwent MRI examination in the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital from 2010 to 2012. The total number of patients increased with year. Boys were more than girls. The positive incidence was slightly decreased. The number of outpatients was more than inpatients, but the positive incidence was lower in outpatients. b) The total numbers of examination position were increased with year and the number of single position examination was the most (accounted for than 85% of the total numbers). The main examination positions included: head, MRA of the head, cervical column, knees, lumbar column, pituitary gland, thoracic column, and abdomen. The examination positions diversified gradually. The application of examination technique also increased gradually. c) The systemic disease spectrum of positive cases in MRI examination included 9 categories, which accounted for 42.86% of ICD-10. The nervous systematic disease, muscle, skeleton and connective tissue disease were the categories. The major disease types were stable during the recent 3 years. The increase was obvious in injuries of the knees, malacosis and atrophy of the brain, the deformity of the brain. Conclusion The total numbers of the patients and positions examined increased gradually with year in the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital from 2010 to 2012. The applications of MRI in the head, limbs and joints, and soft tissues were more extensive. Children diagnosed as positive results had diseases of the central nervous system, limbs and joints, and connective tissue disease.
Objective To evaluate the clinical diagnostic value of knee MRI at 90° flexed position for Ramp lesions of medial meniscus. Methods A total of 228 patients with knee pain as the main complaint who were admitted between September 2021 and September 2023 was selected as the research subjects, of which 51 patients met the selection criteria and were enrolled in the study. There were 31 males and 20 females with an average age of 38.6 years (range, 15-67 years). Body mass index was 17.2-28.7 kg/m2 (mean, 23.9 kg/m2). There were 25 cases of left knee and 36 cases of right knee. The time from injury to admission was 0.1-14.3 weeks (mean, 2.1 weeks). Preoperative knee MRI at fully extended position (knee extension position) and 90° flexed position (knee flexion position) were performed to determine the presence of irregular signs at the posterior edge of the medial meniscus, and PHMM fluid high signal [i.e. complete fluid filling between the posterior horn of the medial meniscus (PHMM) and the capsule margin]. Findings obtained under arthroscopy served as the “gold standard” to analyze the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of MRI at knee extension and flexion positions for the two specific signs of Ramp lesion.Results Twenty-one patients (41.2%) were diagnosed with Ramp lesions by using arthroscopy, including 1 case of Thaunat type Ⅰ, 2 cases of type Ⅱ, 6 cases of type Ⅲ, 7 cases of type Ⅳ, and 5 cases of type Ⅴ. The positive rates of irregular signs at the posterior edge of the medial meniscus on MRI at knee extension and flexion positions were significantly different from the diagnosis of Ramp injury under arthroscopy (P<0.05). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV, and NPV of MRI in the diagnosis of irregular signs were 76.1%, 60.0%, 66.7%, 57.1%, and 78.3% respectively at knee extension position, and 85.7%, 73.3%, 78.4%, 69.2%, and 88.0% respectively at knee flexion position. The positive rates of PHMM fluid high signal on MRI at knee extension and flexion positions were significantly different from the diagnosis of Ramp injury under arthroscopy (P<0.05). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV, and NPV of MRI in diagnosing PHMM fluid high signal were 38.1%, 100%, 74.5%, 100%, and 69.8% respectively at knee extension position, and 85.7%, 100%, 94.1%, 100%, and 90.9% respectively at knee flexion position. ConclusionKnee MRI at 90° flexed position improves the diagnostic performance of the detection of medial meniscal Ramp lesions compared with MRI at fully extended position.
ObjectiveTo analyze injury sites and radiologic features of 60 patients with severe earthquake trauma in Min-Zhang earthquake in 2013. MethodsWe retrospectively collected clinical data of 60 patients with severe earthquake trauma who were sent to major hospitals in Lanzhou city within 7 days after the earthquake. The software of Excel was used to input and analyze clinical data. ResultsAmong 60 patients with severe earthquake trauma, there were 20 cases with single-site injury and 40 cases with multi-site injury, amounting to 120 injury sites. A total of 41 cases were injured in the limbs, involving 53 parts of fracture, of which, 11 cases were injured in the upper limbs (12 sites) and 34 cases in the lower limbs (41 sites). A total of 14 cases were injured in the skull (16 sites). 13 cases were injured in the spine involving a total of 14 vertebrae, 20 sites, of which, 10 cases were accompanied by injuries in the brain and spinal cord. A total of 17 cases were injured in the chest, of which 6 cases were accompanied by rib fracture, amounting to 27 sites. A total of 7 cases were accompanied by visceral injury, involving four sites of the abdomen. ConclusionMulti-site and multi-organ injuries are the most after the earthquake, of which, limb fracture is frequently-seen and abdominal injuries are rare. Imaging examination is very useful in screening injuries caused by the earthquake and in treatment based on categorization.
ObjectiveTo summarize the relationship between lateral femoral notch sign (LFNS) and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture. MethodsThe relevant literature of LFNS at home and abroad in recent years was retrospectively reviewed, and its mechanism, diagnostic criteria and influencing factors in diagnosis of ACL rupture were summarized and analyzed.ResultsThe LFNS is associated with rotational stability of the knee. As an indirect sign of ACL rupture, the LFNS has high clinical diagnostic value, especially the diagnosis of ACL rupture with lateral meniscus injury.ConclusionThe diagnostic criteria and influencing factors of LFNS in diagnosis of ACL rupture are still unclear and controversial, which needs further study.
Objective To systematically review the value of the perfusion paramenters of Ktrans and Kep of dynamic contrast enhanced MRI(DCE-MRI) in distinguishing different histological grades of rectal cancer. Methods Databases such as PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2017), CBM, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP were searched from 1990 to Feb 6th, 2017 to collect the studies according to the criteria. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies and then meta-analysis was performed by using STATA 12.0 software. Results A total of 11 studies involving 618 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that there was significant difference of Ktrans between poorly differentiated grade and moderately-well differentiated grade (SMD=1.123, 95% CI 0.334 to 1.911,P=0.005), but there was no significant difference of Kep between these two groups (SMD=0.233, 95% CI –0.173 to 0.639,P=0.260). Conclusion Current evidence shows that Ktrans can be used to distinguish different histological grades of rectal cancer. The clinical application value of Kep still needs large sample original studies to further verify.
ObjectiveTo study the anatomical characteristics of blood vessels in the lateral segment of the vertebral body through the surgical approach of oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) using MRI imaging, and evaluate its potential vascular safety zone. Methods The lumbar MRI data of 107 patients with low back and leg pain who met the selection criteria between October 2019 and November 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The vascular emanation angles, vascular travel angles, and the length of vessels in the lateral segments of the left vertebral body of L1-L5, as well as the distance between the segmental vessels in different Moro junctions of the vertebral body and their distances from the edges of the vertebrae in the same sequence (bottom marked as I, top as S) were measured. The gap between the large abdominal vessels and the lateral vessels of the vertebral body was set as the lateral vascular safe zones of the lumbar spine, and the extent of the safe zones (namely the area between the vessels) was measured. The anterior 1/3 of the lumbar intervertebral disc was taken as the simulated puncture center, and the area with a diameter of 22 mm around it as the simulated channel area. The proportion of vessels in the channel was further counted. In addition, the proportions of segmental vessels at L5 without a clear travel and with an emanation angel less than 90° were calculated. Results Except for the differences in the vascular emanation angles between L4 and L5, the vascular travel angles between L1, L2 and L4, L5, and the length of vessels in the lateral segments of the vertebral body among L1-L4 were not significant (P>0.05), the differences in the vascular emanation angles, vascular travel angles, and the length of vessels between the rest segments were all significant (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the distance between vessels of L1, L2 and L2, L3 at Moro Ⅰ-Ⅳ junctions (P>0.05), in L3, L4 and L4, L5 at Ⅱ and Ⅲ junction (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the vascular distance of L2, L3 between Ⅱ, Ⅲ junction and Ⅲ, Ⅳ junction, and the vascular distance of L3, L4 between Ⅰ, Ⅱ junction and Ⅲ, Ⅳ junction (P>0.05). The vascular distance of the other adjacent vertebral bodies was significant different between different Moro junctions (P<0.05). Except that there was no significant difference in the distance between L2I and L3S at Ⅰ, Ⅱ junction, L3I and L4S at Ⅱ, Ⅲ junction, and L2I and L3S at Ⅲ, Ⅳ junction (P>0.05), there was significant difference of the vascular distance between the bottom of one segment and the top of the next in the other segments (P<0.05). Comparison between junctions: Except for the L3S between Ⅰ, Ⅱ junction and Ⅱ, Ⅲ junction, and L5S between Ⅰ, Ⅱ junction and Ⅱ, Ⅲ and Ⅲ, Ⅳ junctions had no significant difference (P>0.05), there were significant differences in the distance between the other segmental vessels and the vertebral edge of the same sequence in different Moro junctions (P<0.05). The overall proportion of vessels in the simulated channels was 40.19% (43/107), and the proportion of vessels in L1 (41.12%, 44/107) and L5 (18.69%, 20/107) was higher than that in the other segments. The proportion of vessels in the channel of Moro zone Ⅰ (46.73%, 50/107) and zone Ⅱ (32.71%, 35/107) was higher than that in the zone Ⅲ, while no segmental vessels in L1 and L2 were found in the channel of zone Ⅲ (χ2=74.950, P<0.001). Moreover, 26.17% (28/107) of the segmental vessels of lateral L5 showed no movement, and 27.10% (29/107) vascular emanation angles of lateral L5 were less than 90°. Conclusion L1 and L5 segmental vessels are most likely to be injured in Moro zones Ⅰ and Ⅱ, and the placement of OLIF channels in L4, 5 at Ⅲ, Ⅳ junction should be avoided. It is usually safe to place fixation pins at the vertebral body edge on the cephalic side of the intervertebral space, but it is safer to place them on the caudal side in L1, 2 (Ⅰ, Ⅱ junction), L3, 4 (Ⅲ, Ⅳ junction), and L4, 5 (Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ junctions).
Objective To evaluate the value of MRI in diagnosis of obstetrical brachial plexus palsy pre-gangl ionic injury. Methods From November 2006 to February 2008, 10 patients with obstetrical brachial plexus palsy were treated, 8 males and 2 females, aged from 2 months to 3 years (11.4 months on average). There were 7 cases of left side and 3 of right side.According to Tassin classification, 2 cases were type II, 6 type III and 2 type IV. All patients were performed MRI examinations before the operation, whose results were compared with those of exploration during the operation. Results MRI examinations showed 1 patient was normal and 9 patients had post-traumatic spinalmeningolcele. The 6 patients had displacement of spinal cord (4 towards the healthy side and 2 towards the sick side), 6 had deformity of spinal cord, and 2 had avulsed nerve root thickening. MRI detected 19 nerve roots were positive, 16 were true positive and 3 false positive in surgical exploration. MRI detected 6 nerve roots were negative, 4 were true negative and 2 false negative in surgical exploration. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of MRI in diagnosis of obstetrical brachial plexus palsy pre-gangl ionic injury were 84.2%, 80.0% and 83.3%, respectively. There were significant differences in the results by preoperative MRI examinations and by exploration during the operation (P lt; 0.05). Conclusion MRI can show pre-gangl ionic injury of brachial plexus of the patients with obstetrical brachial plexus palsy and can supply references for early diagnosis and operation time. MRI can be routinely conducted as a preoperative examination.
Objective To summarize the advances in MRI-based bone quality scoring systems and their clinical applications. Methods A comprehensive literature review was conducted on recent studies related to the MRI-based bone quality scoring system, focusing on measurement methods, influencing factors, and clinical significance. Results Osteoporosis has a high incidence in China, significantly impacting patients’ quality of life and the postoperative outcomes of related orthopedic surgeries. Early identification of osteoporosis holds important clinical significance. In recent years, both domestic and international research has enriched the MRI-based bone quality scoring systems, which includes vertebral bone quality scoring, endplate bone quality scoring, and pedicle bone quality scoring. Compared to the “gold standard” of bone density measurement, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, the bone quality scoring systems demonstrate good efficacy in identifying abnormal bone mass and predicting postoperative complications, while being less influenced by degenerative changes in the lumbar spine, indicating its important clinical application value. ConclusionThe MRI-based bone quality scoring systems have good value in clinical applications. However, current studies are mostly retrospective cohort and case-control studies, which carry a risk of bias. The clinical application value needs further clarification through meta-analysis and large-scale prospective studies.