Overview of Lumbosacral MRI Findings in Jos University Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Lumbosacral conditions are common disorders involving the soft tissues and bones of the low back. They may be due to underlying pathologies such as slipped disc, low back pain, TB spine, paraplegia, spinal tumour, degenerative disc disease, lumbosacral spondylosis, cord compression syndrome, traumatic spinal cord injury, caudaequina or fractures of any part of the vertebrae below T12 down to the gluteal fold. Degenerative disc disease, lumbar spondylosis, degenerative disc disease and exit nerve root compression are common findings in the MRI scan of patients with lumbosacral conditions. The MRI scan of patients with lumbosacral conditions seen between 2016 and 2017 were evaluated for the study. The features assessed were degenerative disc diseases, lumbar spondylosis, degenerative disc disease with exit nerve root compression, spinal cord contusion/injury, Pott's disease and lumbar spondylolisthesis. myelitis, lumbar spondylosis with degenerative disc disease, as well as lumbar fracture were also assessed. A total of 233 patients with lumbosacral pathologies were included in this study. There were 132 (56.7%) males and 101 (43.3%) females. Of all the patients with radiculopathies, patients with low back pain as the major indication constituted 23.2%, followed by those with lumbosacral spondylosis (19.3%), paraplegia (15.5%) and slipped disc (13.7%), while patients with caudaequina and spinal tumour represented 2.6% and 1.7% respectively. Degenerative disc disease was the most common finding representing 38.2% patients, followed by lumbar spondylosis (14.6%) and degenerative disc disease with exit nerve root compression (14.2%). Lumbar fracture was the least common finding in 1.3% of patients with lumbosacral conditions. MRI can be used to identify pathologies of lumbosacral tissues in a non-invasive manner. There was a high prevalence of radiculopathies in the lumbosacral spine of patients.