Diagnostic accuracy of MRI in the detection of intradural extramedullary spinal tumors

Abstract

Background: The majority of intradural spinal tumors are extramedullary accounting for 40% of all spinal tumors with meningiomas and nerve sheath tumors being the most frequent. Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of MRI in the detection of intradural extramedullary spinal tumors taking histopathology as gold standard. Methodology: This study comprised of 140 patients with clinical suspicion of intradural extramedullary spinal tumor. MRI was performed. The cases were operated and histopathological results were recorded. The results of MRI and histopathology were compared taking histopathology as gold standard. Results: Out of 140 patients, 96 patients (68.6%) had an extramedullary tumor on MRI. After comparison of results of MRI with histopathology, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of MRI were 99%, 95.5%, 97.9%, 97.9% and 97.7% respectively. Conclusion: MRI is a highly accurate, non-invasive, safe and convenient imaging modality for the evaluation of intradural spinal tumors and is valuable for early detection, planning management and guiding surgical biopsies.