Correlation of MR imaging findings with intraoperative findings after cervical spine trauma

There are limited data correlating MR imaging and anatomic findings of ligamentous injury in cervical spine trauma. This study compares acute MR imaging with surgical observations of disk/ligamentous injury after blunt cervical trauma.

Consecutive patients with acute cervical spine trauma who underwent preoperative MR imaging and surgery from 1998 to 2001 were identified. MR imaging was obtained within 48 hours of injury for most patients. All scans included sagittal T1, T2 fat-saturated, and short tau inversion recovery sequences. At surgery, extent of injury at the operated level was recorded on a standardized form for either anterior or posterior structures or both depending upon the operative approach. MR examinations were separately evaluated by 2 readers blinded to the intraoperative findings. Radiologic and surgical findings were then correlated.

Of 31 patients, an anterior surgical approach was chosen in 17 patients and a posterior approach in 13 patients. In one patient anterior and posterior approaches were utilized. Seventy-one percent of patients had spinal cord injury on MR imaging. MR imaging was highly sensitive for injury to disk (93%), posterior longitudinal ligament (93%), and interspinous soft tissues (100%), but it was less sensitive for injury to the anterior longitudinal ligament (71%) and ligamentum flavum (67%). For most ligamentous structures, there was limited agreement between specific MR imaging findings and injury at surgery.

In acute cervical spine trauma, MR imaging has moderate to high sensitivity for injury to specific ligamentous structures but limited agreement between specific MR imaging findings and injury at surgery. MR imaging may overestimate the extent of disruptive injury when compared with intraoperative findings, with potential clinical consequences.