[Value of MR myelography in the diagnosis of the spine disorders]

To evaluate the utility of myelography obtained with MR imaging (MR-myelography) as a complementary tool in patients studied with a conventional MR examination of the spine. 275 consecutive patients were included. All of them were studied with MR-myelography in 2 planes, coronal and sagittal, with a turbo spin-echo single-shot technique, as a complement to a conventional MR study of the spine; 130 were males and 145 women, with ages ranging from 20 to 71 years (mean, 45 years). The analyzed variables were age, sex, vertebral segment studied, alteration of the dural sac, intradural nerve roots, emergent roots, and presence of intradural lesions, meningeal cysts, and spinal stenosis. The added value of MR-myelography regarding conventional MR was categorized. MR-myelography obtained new information in 88 cases (32%), being considered irrelevant information in 42 cases and relevant in 46 cases (16.7% of all cases) (amputations of the emergent roots and alterations of the intradural roots). MR-myelography did not contribute to any type of additional information to the conventional MR study in 187 cases (68% of all studies). MR-myelography is a rapid acquisition technique that supplements the conventional MR study of the spine, contributing with relevant new information in the analysis of the spine diseases 16.7% of cases.