Incidental Lumbar Spinal Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings of Patients with a Prediagnosis of Degenerative Spinal Disease

Abstract

Objective: Spinal incidental lesions include incidentally detected findings from spinal imaging which is related to the vertebral column or spinal components but are not related to the disease that is being investigated. In this study, we report the incidental findings detected in lumbar spinal. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations performed on patients with a prediagnosis of degenerative spinal disease. In addition, the frequency and clinical importance of these incidental findings are discussed. Materials and Methods:The lumbar spinal MRI results for 293 cases were retrospectively examined. The age, gender, clinical findings, symptoms, radiological images, and presence/absence of neurosurgical pathology that required surgery, and incidentally, detected findings were examined.Results: About 65.20% (n=191) of 293 cases were female and 34.80% (n=102) were male. The median age was 57 years (minimum=2 years: maximum=88 years). It was determined that the median age level was higher for patients with incidental findings (p=0.011). A positive correlation was found between the age of the patient and the number of incidental findings (rs=0.17; p=0.005). Conclusion:Incidental spinal findings are frequently detected with radiological imagings that are widely used today.