A MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING STUDY OF DESTRUCTIVE SPONDYLOARTHROPATHY IN LONG-TERM HEMODIALYSIS-PATIENTS

It is most important to differentiate destructive spondyloarthropathy (DSA) from vertebral osteomyelitis (VOM), both showing similar roentgenographic findings and evaluate the spinal involvement of DSA. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is useful for morphological and biochemical analysis of spinal lesions, but few studies have been conducted on DSA. The authors detected 20 patients with DSA among 237 hemodialysis patients and conducted a study on 4 of them. The involved vertebral regions all showed low signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted images. VOM can be visualized as areas of high signal intensity on T2-weighted images. In 2 of the patients, impingement was noted on the thecal sac both anteriorly and posteriorly. From the results of this study, MRI of DSA was shown to facilitate the exclusion of infectious processes and evaluation of spinal involvement.