Subcutaneous fluid collection: An imaging marker for treatment response of infectious thoracolumbar spondylodiscitis

To evaluate prevalence of subcutaneous fluid collection (SFC) in infectious thoracolumbar spondylodiscitis (SD) compared with control patients and to investigate correlation between volume changes of SFC and treatment response of SD.

This retrospective study was approved by our institutional review board. From April 2011 to March 2012, 49 patients (24 SD and 25 non-SD patients) were enrolled. Prevalence of SFC was evaluated respectively for SD and non-SD patients using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on the sagittal short tau inversion recovery (STIR) imaging or fat-saturated T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), and compared. In SD patients with SFC, correlation was investigated between SFC volume on the 1st MRI and initial clinical status. The same analysis was conducted also for SFC volume changes from the 1st to 2nd or last MRI.

SFC was found in 20 patients with SD (83.3%) and 3 non-SD patients (12%) with significant difference (p<.001). In 20 SD patients with SFC, 17 patients had follow-up MRI. For the 1st MRI, no significant correlation was found between volume of SFC and initial status of patients, including body weight, body mass index (BMI), white blood cell (WBC), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). However, significant positive correlations were found between changes of C-reactive protein (CRP) and SFC volume from the 1st to 2nd as well as from the 1st to the last MRI (each p<.05).

SD patients had significantly higher prevalence of SFC than non-SD patients. Volume changes of SFC had significant correlation with changes of CRP, which can be used as an imaging marker for treatment response of SD on MRI.