Trochanteric bursitis. A case report of plain film, scintigraphic, and MRI correlation

A 43-year-old woman confined to bed and wheelchair due to multiple sclerosis (MS) presented with complaints of sharp, bilateral hip pain (left greater than right) that radiated to the thighs with point tenderness to trochanteric palpation. She had received several courses of high-dose intravenous corticosteroids for MS. Plain radiographs were normal. Three-phase Tc-99m MDP bone scan demonstrated focal increased tracer activity in the trochanteric regions of the hips on blood pool images only. MRI was performed using T1, fast spin echo T2, and STIR sequences in a 1.5T unit. The T1, fast spin echo T2, and a previous .5T standard spin echo examination all were normal. However, the STIR sequence demonstrated abnormal increased signal in the trochanteric bursae bilaterally. This is the first known report of trochanteric bursitis with plain film, scintigraphic, and MRI correlation.