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Different fracture types can affect presence, degree of marrow edema after injury
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Researchers analyzed different types of acute spinal fractures and found variability existed in the presence or degree of marrow edema on MRI evaluation after traumatic injury.
The retrospective review initially included 1,215 patients who were evaluated for suspected spine trauma using a combination of CT and MRI. Analysis revealed a total of 163 patients with 288 fractures that were satisfactorily evaluated on CT and MRI within 48 hours of admission.
The researchers assessed and quantified marrow edema for the 288 fractures using the Marrow Edema Score (MES) and observed 94 fractures elicited no marrow edema (MES = 1), 59 fractures had mild marrow edema (MES = 2), 50 fractures with moderate marrow edema (MES = 3) and 85 fractures with marked marrow edema (MES = 4).
Compared with acute fractures with distraction or fractures without compression, a statistically significant difference was observed in marrow edema with acute vertebral body compression fractures, according to the researchers. However, there was no statistically significant difference found between distracted fractures and the nondistracted and noncompressed fractures.
Overall, the researchers concluded that fractures without compression and/or those without distraction did not reliably generate marrow edema and can lead to false findings on an MRI. – by Robert Linnehan
Disclosure: Brinckman reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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