ROLE OF MRI IN LUMBAR DISC DISEASE AND CORRELATION WITH CLINICAL FINDINGS
Main Article Content
Keywords
MRI, Lumbar Disc Disease, Clinical Correlation, Diagnostic Accuracy, Radiculopathy, Spine Imaging.
Abstract
Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of MRI in lumbar disc disease by comparing MRI findings with clinical findings in patients presenting with low back pain and radiculopathy
Study Design: Cross-sectional Validation Study.
Place & Duration of Study: Department of Radiology, Bolan Medical Complex, Quetta for a period of six months w.e.f. 02-08-2021 to 01-02-2022.
Methodology: For data collection, patients meeting inclusion criteria were enrolled after informed consent. Clinical history and examination were recorded, and all underwent MRI lumbosacral spine using a standardized protocol. MRI images were interpreted by an experienced radiologist, while clinical assessment was done using a structured proforma. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0.
Results: The study included 210 patients with a mean age of 45.29 ± 11.21 years, with a slight male predominance. Most patients were in the 20-45 years age group. MRI detected lumbar disc disease in 77.1% of cases compared to 74.3% on clinical examination. MRI demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy (92.38%) with excellent sensitivity and good specificity. Overall, MRI showed strong diagnostic performance in detecting lumbar disc disease, with consistent findings across age and gender subgroups.
Conclusion: This study concludes that MRI demonstrates high diagnostic accuracy in lumbar disc disease when correlated with clinical findings, with excellent sensitivity and moderate specificity. Although MRI is highly effective in detecting disc pathology, it may also identify incidental degenerative changes not always clinically significant. Therefore, MRI should be interpreted alongside clinical assessment to ensure accurate diagnosis and optimal patient management.
References
2. Yang H, Liu H, Li Z, Zhang K, Wang J, Wang H, et al. Low back pain associated with lumbar disc herniation: role of moderately degenerative disc and annulus fibrous tears. Int J Clin Exp Med 2015 Feb 15;8(2):1634.
3. Liyew WA. Clinical presentations of lumbar disc degeneration and lumbosacral nerve lesions. Int J Rheumatol 2020;2020(1):2919625. doi: 10.1155/2020/2919625.
4. Scarcia L, Pileggi M, Camilli A, Romi A, Bartolo A, Giubbolini F, et al. Degenerative disc disease of the spine: from anatomy to pathophysiology and radiological appearance, with morphological and functional considerations. J Personalized Med 2022;12(11):1810. doi: 10.3390/jpm12111810.
5. Ravindra VM, Senglaub SS, Rattani A, Dewan MC, Härtl R, Bisson E, Park KB, Shrime MG. Degenerative lumbar spine disease: estimating global incidence and worldwide volume. Glob Spine J 2018;8(8):784-94. doi: 10.1177/2192568218770769.
6. Saini R, Sharma A, Dave MB. Clinical reporting of magnetic resonance imaging, the way forward for patients with lumbar disc herniation: a prospective correlational study. Cureus 2022;14(7):e27232.
7. Watanabe T, Otani K, Sekiguchi M, Konno S. Relationship between lumbar disc degeneration on MRI and low back pain: a cross-sectional community study. Fukushima J Med Sci 2022;68(2):97-107. doi:10.5387/fms.2022-17.
8. Winegar BA, Kay MD, Taljanovic M. Magnetic resonance imaging of the spine. Pol J Radiol 2020;85(1):550-74.
9. Dev B, Shah A, Chaudhary A, Yadav AK, Jha SC, Chaudhary AK. Lumbar disc degenerative disorder among patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging in a tertiary care centre: a descriptive cross-sectional study. J Nepal Med Assoc 2022;60(249):430. doi: 10.31729/jnma.7426.
10. Ohba T. The essence of clinical practice guidelines for lumbar disc herniation, 2021: 2. Pathological condition. Spine Surg Relat Res 2022;6(4):322-4. doi: 10.22603/ssrr.2022-0043.
11. Alkhasawneh MH, Al-Mnayyis AA, Bagain Y. Spinal Degeneration and degenerative disc disease correlation identified with magnetic resonance imaging. Biomed Pharmacol J 2021;14(1):491-6. doi : https://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bpj/2149.
12. Berg AJ, Ahmadje U, Jayanna HH, Trégouët P, Sanville P, Kapoor V. The prevalence of lumbar disc degeneration in symptomatic younger patients: A study of MRI scans. J Clin Orthop Trauma 2020;11(5):932-6. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcot.2020.07.021.
13. Rehman L, Khaleeq S, Hussain A, Ghani E, Mushtaq, Khaleeq-uz-Zaman. Correlation between clinical features and magnetic resonance imaging findings in patients with lumbar disc herniation. J Postgrad Med Inst. 2007;21:65-70.
14. Mallio CA, Vadalà G, Russo F, Bernetti C, Ambrosio L, Beomonte Zobel B, et al. Novel magnetic resonance imaging tools for the diagnosis of degenerative disc disease: a narrative review. Diagnostics 2022;12(2):420. doi:10.3390/diagnostics12020420.
15. Michelini G, Corridore A, Torlone S, Bruno F, Marsecano C, Capasso R, Caranci F, et al. Dynamic MRI in the evaluation of the spine: state of the art. Acta Bio Medica 2018;89(Suppl 1):89. doi: 10.23750/abm.v89i1-S.7012.
16. Thapa SS, Lakhey RB, Sharma P, Pokhrel RK. Correlation between clinical features and magnetic resonance imaging findings in lumbar disc prolapse. J Nepal Health Res Council 2016;14(02): 85-6.
17. Ahmed L, Noman A, Ali A, Munir A, Javed S, Asghar S, Ahmed J. Evaluation of lumbar disc degenerative disease on mri in disability index. Indus J Biosci Res 2025;3(4):156-63. doi: https://doi.org/10.70749/ijbr.v3i4.1048.
18. Bajpai J, Saini S, Singh R. Clinical correlation of magnetic resonance imaging with symptom complex in prolapsed intervertebral disc disease: a cross-sectional double blind analysis. J Craniovertebral Junction Spine. 2013;4(1):16-20.
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All articles published in JPTCP are licensed under Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Dr. Unsa Baiza
Resident Radiology, Department of Radiology, Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad
Dr. Zainab Qazi
Senior Registrar, Department of Radiology, Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad
