Signal Intensity of Lumbar Disc Herniations: Correlation With Age of Herniation for Extrusion, Protrusion, and Sequestration

Abstract

Background: There is presently insufficient data on small groups of patients, without focus on time since herniation occurred and without establishing a valid method of measurement for signal intensity (SI) of a lumbar disc herniation (LDH) in a standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). SI could be reported in relation to SI of nucleus pulposus of herniated intervertebral disc, nucleus pulposus of a healthy ''control'' intervertebral disc, cerebral spinal fluid, or anterior anulus fibrosus. It is not known which signal intensity ratio (SIR) shows the highest correlation with time since onset of pain and how SIR of different Combined Task Forces (CTF)-types of herniation develop over time. Methods: Out of 1053 patients, we enrolled 151 patients to a retrospective single-center analysis of standard MRIs of consecutive patients treated for LDH from February 2008 to December 2017 with confirmed (surgery, injection, or electrophysiologic testing) radicular pain by LDH and known exact date of onset of pain. We excluded patients , 18 or. 70 years, with chronical pain syndrome, spinal deformity, and history of prior spinal surgery on the affected spinal level. Because data did not show normal distribution, we assessed correlation by Spearman rank correlation coefficient. Correlation (R) and coefficient of correlation (CC) are reported. Results: SI of LDH referenced by SI of nucleus pulposus of the affected intervertebral disc and CTF type ''extrusion'' showed the highest correlations with time since onset of pain (R: À0.893; CC: 79.7), followed by CTF-type ''sequestration'' (R: À0.356; CC: 12.7). Conclusions: SIR of extrusion referenced by nucleus pulposus of the affected intervertebral disc does show a high correlation with days since onset of herniation and may be applied to monitor changes of SI of LDH after herniation in standard MRIs of the lumbar spine.

Morphological parameters of fourth lumbar spinous process palpation: a three-dimensional reconstruction of computed tomography

“…In that case, it was clear that adequate knowledge of L4 morphology is necessary for the spinal surgeon in order to avoid damage to the vertebral arteries, spinal cord, or nerve roots during fixation interventions involving the posterior cervical spine. Hence, it can be more safer for patients with abnormal spinal anatomy and the morbidly obese, particularly in those who have difficulties in palpating anatomical landmarks [17,18]. Therefore, there were a series of errors which may happen in clinical practice.…”

Morphological parameters of fourth lumbar spinous process palpation: a three-dimensional reconstruction of computed tomography

“…In that case, it was clear that adequate knowledge of L4 morphology is necessary for the spinal surgeon in order to avoid damage to the vertebral arteries, spinal cord or nerve roots during fixation interventions involving the posterior cervical spine. Hence, it can more safe for patients with abnormal spinal anatomy and the morbidly obese, particularly in whom have difficulties in palpating anatomical landmarks [17][18]. Therefore, there were a series of errors which may happen in clinical practice.…”

Features of Clinical and Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Lumbar Disc Herniation

“…Kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy, tỷ lệ thoát vị thắt lưng cao ít gặp hơn, tầng L1/2: 9,1%, L2/3: 21,8%, Bùi Quang Tuyển nghiên cứu 2359 trường hợp TVĐĐ CSTL cũng cho rằng tỉ lệ TVĐĐ thắt lưng cao chiếm tỉ lệ thấp 5,76%. M. R. Konieczny và cs cũng cho rằng tỉ lệ thoát vị tầng cao ít gặp, tầng L1/2: 1,3% và L2/3: 2,6% [7], tương tự kết quả nghiên cứu của chúng tôi.…”

“…Tầng thoát vị hay gặp nhất là L4/5 chiếm tỷ lệ 81,8%, và L5/S1 tỷ lệ 70,9%. M. R. Konieczny và cs cho rằng tầng thoát vị hay gặp nhất là L4/5 và L4/S1 với tỷ lệ tương ứng là 43,0% và 36,4% [7]. M. Karademir cũng cho rằng tầng thoát vị hay gặp nhất là L4/5 (54%) và thứ hai là L5/S1 (34%) [9].…”