Introduction: The role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has recently been enhanced in the diagnosis of thoracolumbar fractures due to its ability to examine soft tissue injury.
Material and methods: We conducted a prospective study to analyze the usefulness of MRI in fracture diagnosis and its influence on treatment decision making. Thirty-three patients were enrolled after suffering an acute traumatic thoracolumbar fracture. Osteoporotic or pathologic fractures were excluded. Fractures were initially classified using X-ray and CT scan following the AO classification. Afterward, a selective MRI protocol was performed with T1 and T2-weighted FS/STIR sequences. Subsequently, fractures were classified according to the TLICS system and reclassified following the AO system. Analysis was performed before and after MRI, focusing on: diagnostic changes, occult fractures and differences in treatment decision making.
Results: Thirty patients (15 males, 15 females) with an average age of 39.9 years were studied. Forty-one fractures were initially diagnosed using plain X-rays and CT scans, while MRI diagnosed 50 fractures and 9 vertebral contusions. MRI modified our diagnosis in 40% of our patients (discovering 18 occult injuries), the classification of fracture pattern in 24% of the fractures (mostly upgrading type A to type B patterns) and the therapeutic management in 16% of our patients.
Conclusions: MRI seems to be a useful tool in the evaluation of thoracolumbar acute fractures, as it allows a better visualization of the posterior complex integrity and of the levels involved, offering additional information compared to traditional diagnostic tools.