Abstract
We investigated the usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in assessing cervical spinal cord injury in patients where there was no evidence of bone injury on radiographs, and examined the relationship between the MRI findings and the clinical prognosis of this injury. MRI allowed us to confirm directly the cause and severity of spinal cord compression in 30 of 31 cases. The patients with severe spinal cord compression demonstrated by MRI showed poor neurological improvement. In regard to the signal changes in the spinal cord, the patients who showed no signal change on Tl- and T2-weighted images had a better prognosis. MRI is a very useful non-invasive adjunctive imaging modality for diagnosis of this injury and for the evaluation of the compressed spinal cord. It also demonstrates potential in predicting neurological recovery.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Hackney D B et al. Hemorrhage and edema in acute spinal cord compression: demonstration by MR imaging. Radiology 1986; 161: 387–390.
Kulkarni M V et al. Acute spinal cord injury: MR imaging at 1.5T. Radiology 1987; 164: 837–843.
Flanders A E et al. Acute cervical spine trauma: Correlation of MR imaging findings with degree of neurologic deficit. Radiology 1990; 177: 25–33.
Marciello M A et al. Magnetic resonance imaging related to neurologic outcome in cervical spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 1993; 74: 940–946.
Frankel H L et al. The value of postural reduction in the initial management of closed injuries of the spine with paraplegia and tetraplegia. Paraplegia 1969; 7: 179–192.
Fujii H, Yone K, Sakou T . Magnetic resonance imaging study of experimental acute spinal cord injury. Spine 1993; 18: 2030–2034.
Yamshita Y et al. Chronic injuries of the spinal cord: Assessment with MR imaging. Radiology 1990; 175: 849–854.
Enzmann D R, DeLaPaz R L, Rubin J B . Magnetic Resonance of the Spine. Mosby: St Louis, 1990, pp 237–259.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hayashi, K., Yone, K., Ito, H. et al. MRI findings in patients with a cervical spinal cord injury who do not show radiographic evidence of a fracture or dislocation. Spinal Cord 33, 212–215 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1995.47
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1995.47
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Application of postmortem MRI for identification of medulla oblongata contusion as a cause of death: a case report
International Journal of Legal Medicine (2023)
-
Preexisting severe cervical spinal cord compression is a significant risk factor for severe paralysis development in patients with traumatic cervical spinal cord injury without bone injury: a retrospective cohort study
European Spine Journal (2016)