Single Sequence Whole-Spine Screening Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Role in Multiple-Level...

Spinal tuberculosis (TB) is the most common form of skeletal tuberculosis. Paradiscal continuous vertebral involvement at a single level is the most prevalent pattern among all forms of spinal TB. There is a wide range of reported incidences of multiple-level non-contiguous spinal TB in the literature. We would like to discuss on the utility of single whole spine screening T2-weighted (T2W) mid-sagittal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) film in diagnosing multiple-level spinal TB and therapeutic benefits it can provide.

We have done a retrospective review of the collected data of patients in Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital from August 2017 to October 2021 to find the incidence of multiple-level spinal TB and possible factors attributed to this specific disease pattern. All the patients who had been diagnosed of spinal TB either microbiologically or histopathologically or by a good clinical response to anti-tubercular treatment (ATT) and had a whole spine screening MRI film, were included. Patients of spinal TB who did not have a whole spine screening MRI were excluded from the study. Multiple-level spinal TB was diagnosed when lesions were identified in vertebral levels other than a typical paradiscal lesion, and additional lesions were separated from the primary disease by at least one normal spinal segment.

Among the patients, 242 met the inclusion criteria, and 76 showed multiple-level non-contiguous spinal TB on MRI, incidence being 31.4%. The rest of the 166 patients showed typical single-segment contiguous lesions. By doing multivariate analysis to determine the independent risk factors for multiple-level spinal TB, extremes of age (<20 years and >50 years) have been found to be a significant factor with p value of 0.0001. Though drug resistance was not found to be a significant risk factor (p value 0.051), the proportion of patients having multiple-level TB was far more in the drug-resistant group (13/76).

Single sequence whole spine screening MRI film is an effective, economical, and time-saving tool to detect multiple-level spinal TB. Along with its diagnostic accuracy, it also provides therapeutic benefits like access to a more approachable site for biopsy.