Incidental extraspinal findings in the lumbar spine during magnetic resonance imaging of intervertebral discs

Abstract

PurposeTo calculate the frequencies of incidental extraspinal findings and incidentally detected congenital anomalies or anatomical differences in the lumbar spine on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of intervertebral discs.Materials and methodsA total of 379 lumbar spine MRI cases were prospectively investigated in the period spanning from August 2016 to January 2018. Both 1.5 and 0.35 Tesla MRI units (Toshiba and Siemens Medical Systems) were used to examine patients with clinically suspected intervertebral disc abnormalities at three MRI diagnostic centers in Khartoum State, Sudan.ResultsOf the 379(100%) patients, 90(23.7%) patients were presented with incidental findings. Among the incidental findings, 39(10.3%) were renal cysts, 10(2.6%) were retroverted uteri, 5(1.3%) were Nabothian cysts, 4(1.1%) were ovarian cysts, 10(2.6%) were uterine fibroids, 3(0.8%) were endometrial thickening, 11(2.9%) were indicative of hydronephrosis, 4(1.1%) were uncovered prostatic enlargement, 2(0.5%) were atrophic kidney, and 1(0.3%) each was of an ectopic kidney and bladder wall thickening, respectively.ConclusionsA high percentage of extraspinal pathological findings were detected during MRI lumbar spine scans of intervertebral discs. Thus, it is important to be aware of the high percentage of patients who undergo further evaluation given the presence of unexpected findings, but for whom clinical confirmation of these abnormalities is not obtained.

Extraspinal findings prevalence and clinical significance in 4250 lumbar spine MRI exams

“…This series, with a larger sample size compared to the previous series, showed that the prevalence of ESFs is 31.1%. This prevalence was close to several other studies 5 , 6 , 8 . However, it was lower than that reported by Quattrocchi et al 3 .…”

“…On the other hand, underreporting of ESFs, especially those of clinical significance can adversely affect subsequent patient management. In addition, it can raise ethical and legal concerns for the reading radiologists 3 , 5 , 6 .…”

Incidental Extraspinal Findings in the Thoracic Spine during Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Intervertebral Discs

“…[7] and Zidan et al . [13] , the IFs in the thyroid gland were 17.4% and 6.3%, respectively, while IFs in the thyroid gland in the present research were 3.3% in the form of thyroid goiter (1.7%), thyroid nodule (0.8%), and cervical cyst (0.8%) [Table 2]. This inequality in the incidence rates could be validated based on their enormous population study related to our research.…”

“…Furthermore, the incidence rate of a thyroid goiter in thoracic spine MRI scans was 1.7% [Table 2], which is lower than the rate 4.6% described by Zidan et al . [13] This might be due to the fact that our research focused on the thoracic spine but that is of Zidan et al . [13] focused on the cervical spine.…”

“…[13] This might be due to the fact that our research focused on the thoracic spine but that is of Zidan et al . [13] focused on the cervical spine. In the studies conducted by Dilli et al .…”