Role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Differentiating Benign and Malignant Causes of Vertebral Collapse

Introduction: Vertebral collapse is associated with breakdown of vertebra resulting in decrease in height of vertebral body. Magnetic Resonance Imaging is well known method to evaluate bone and bone marrow diseases, one of the reliable markers to differentiate between benign and malignant compressive fractures and certain characteristics which aids in early differentiation of benign and malignant vertebral collapse and also helps in diagnosis of etiological background of vertebral collapse. Objectives: Primarily to differentiate benign and malignant vertebral collapse on Magnetic resonance imaging and subsequently differentiating vertebral collapse between osteoporotic, traumatic and infective etiology. Materials and methods: The study was conducted in department of radiology and orthopedics. Study subjects were those who attended radiology and orthopedics department with complaints of back pain, lower limb weakness, generalized body ache, tingling and numbness .Detailed clinical history was taken and subjects were subjected to imaging statistical analysis was done. Results: Study subjects were subjected for MRI in accordance of MRI findings of vertebral collapse was classified as benign and malignant, 76% and 24% respectively. Out of which 80% presented with multiple vertebral collapse in which 32.5% were osteoporotic in nature. Solitary vertebral collapse accounts for 20% out of which 50% traumatic etiology. Conclusion: In present study, total 50 cases of vertebral collapse were studied. Out of these 12 cases were diagnosed as malignant, all of which were metastatic in nature, and 38 cases of benign etiology comprising of osteoporotic (n=15) , traumatic(n=12), and infective (n=11) causes were studied. Age of patients ranged from 3 to 74 years. Male: female ratio was 2:1.MRI is the reliable method to differentiate between benign and malignant compression fracture. Certain MRI characteristics which allow early differentiation of benign and malignant vertebral fractures were studied. Author Affiliations: Department of Radiodiagnosis, Shri.B.M.Patil Medical College, BLDE University, Bijapur. Karnataka. Dr.Satish Patil et al., Magnetic resonance imaging in vertebral collapse..... Intl. J. Clin. Diag. Res. 2017;5(2):III www.ijcdr.net