Articles from Spine

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Masharawi, Y ; Kjaer, P ; Bendix, T ; Manniche, C
The Reproducibility of Quantitative Measurements in Lumbar Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Children From the General Population
Spine. 33(19):2094-2100, September 1, 2008.
Abstract
Study Design. Quantitative lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements in children were taken twice and analyzed for intra- and intertester reproducibility.Objective. To evaluate the reproducibility of a variety of lumbar quantitative measurements taken from MRIs of children from the general population.Summary of Background Data. The reproducibility of lumbar quantitative measurements has never been tested on MRIs of children from the general population. This is a prerequisite for a reliable anatomic characterization of the immature spine in normal and pathologic conditions.Methods. Lumbar quantitative measurements from 40 T2-weighted lumbar (L1-S1) MRIs of children from the general population were taken twice by 1 tester for intratester reproducibility and compared with the same measurements (L4-S1) of the same MRIs taken by a second tester for intertester reproducibility. The following parameters were measured using the iQ-VIEW system (IMAGE Information Systems Ltd., version 1.2.2, Plauen, Germany): Linear measurements-zygoappophyseal facets and interfacet widths, and vertebral body (VB), pedicle and intervertebral discs heights, widths, and lengths. Angular measurements-zygoappophyseal tranverse superior facet angles, sagittal VB, and disc wedging, lumbar lordosis, and sacral inclination. Statistical analysis included the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), and Bland and Altman's limits of agreement (LOA).Results. A total of 6160 measurements were analyzed. Good to excellent intratester reproducibility (0.75 <=CCC <=0.99) was indicated for all linear measurements (except for pedicle heights) (LOA: -4.76; 5.74 mm) and for angular measurements related to the facets orientation, lumbar lordosis, and sacral inclination (LOA: 11.22[degrees]; 12.34[degrees]). VB and disc sagittal wedging manifested poor intratester reproducibility