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Association of the apparent diffusion coefficient with maturity in adolescent sacroiliac joints
Author(s) -
Bray Timothy J.P.,
Vendhan Kanimozhi,
Roberts James,
Atkinson David,
Punwani Shonit,
Sen Debajit,
Ioannou Yiannis,
HallCraggs Margaret A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.25209
Subject(s) - sacroiliitis , sacroiliac joint , medicine , effective diffusion coefficient , magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear medicine , sagittal plane , coronal plane , diffusion imaging , diffusion mri , anatomy , radiology
Purpose To determine the extent to which apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values vary with skeletal maturity in adolescent joints. Materials and Methods A retrospective study was performed with Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. We used a picture archiving and communication system (PACS) search to identify and recruit all adolescents who had undergone 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the sacroiliac joints (SIJs) between January 2010 and June 2015, and had no evidence of sacroiliitis and normal inflammatory markers. In all, 55 individuals were assessed. For each patient, coronal and sagittal images of the sacrum were visually analyzed to determine sacral maturity. Patients were divided into three groups depending on the degree of fusion of the sacral segmental apophyses: “Fused,” “Partial,” and “Unfused.” For each group, SIJ ADC was measured using a linear region‐of‐interest technique. Results Mean ADC values were 690 × 10 −6 mm 2 /s in the fused group, 720 × 10 −6 mm 2 /s in the partial group, and 842 × 10 −6 mm 2 /s in the unfused group. ADC values were significantly higher in the unfused group than in the fused group ( P = 0.046). ADC values were also higher in unfused subjects than partially fused subjects ( P = 0.074). Conclusion Joint ADC values are higher in skeletally immature (unfused) patients than in skeletally more mature (fused) patients. ADC values measured in the unfused group overlap with those previously reported in sacroiliitis. These results suggest that ADC measurements in adolescent joints must be interpreted in light of joint maturity. Joint immaturity may lead to misdiagnosis of sacroiliitis, since immature juxta‐articular bone may appear similar to inflammation. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;44:556–564.