Lumbar Modic Changes-A Comparison Between Findings at Low- and High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging

作者：Bendix Tom^*; Sorensen Joan S; Henriksson Gustaf A C; Bolstad Jorn Espen; Narvestad Eva K; Jensen Tue S

来源：Spine, 2012, 37(20): 1756-1762.

DOI：10.1097/BRS.0b013e318257ffce

• Modic changes
• lumbar spine
• high-field MRI
• low-field MRI

Study Design. A cross-sectional observational study. %26lt;br%26gt;Objective. To investigate whether there is a difference in findings of lumbar Modic changes in low-field (0.3 T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compared with high-field (1.5 T). %26lt;br%26gt;Summary of Background Data. It is a challenge to give patients with low back pain a specific diagnosis. Modic changes as seen on MRI have been reported to be a possible source of pain. However, it is unclear whether the diagnosis is independent on the field strength. %26lt;br%26gt;Methods. Twenty patients with Modic changes, 11 women and 9 men (mean age, 53.6 yr; range, 29-81 yr), with or without sciatica, seen in a Danish outpatient low back pain clinic were included. All patients obtained MRI scans on both a high-field and a low-field MRI scanner. Two radiologists evaluated all lumbar endplates independently, using a standardized evaluation protocol. Kappa statistics were used to analyze the interobserver reproducibility. We used paired t test to analyze the difference between low- and high-field MRI. %26lt;br%26gt;Results. The total number of Modic changes diagnosed with high-field MRI was significantly higher than that with low-field MRI. However, 3 to 4 times as many Modic type 1 changes were found with low-field MRI compared with high-field MRI. Contrarily, with high-field MRI type 2 changes were diagnosed twice as often. %26lt;br%26gt;Conclusion. There was a significant difference between low- and high-field MRI regarding the overall prevalence of any Modic change, but this had opposite directions for types 1 and 2: type 2 dominated in low field and conversely in high field. The type of MRI unit should be taken into consideration when diagnosing patients with Modic changes.

• 出版日期2012-9-15