An observational study of the demographic, clinical, and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging characteristics of patients with musculoskeletal infections

Introduction: Musculoskeletal infections have been emerging nowadays. Its early diagnosis is warranted as it may lead to disabling sequelae. Recently, the use of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWMRI) provided additional pulse sequences enabling better diagnosis and needs to be explored for diagnosing musculoskeletal infections. Thus, we conducted this study with an aim to discuss demographic, clinical, and DWMRI findings of the spectrum of musculoskeletal infections, emphasizing the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map for this domain of infections. Methods: A retrospective observational study was carried out in the department of radiodiagnosis of a tertiary care hospital. The study was performed on 50 patients who were suspected cases of musculoskeletal infections. All the patients underwent basic investigations, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and diffusion-weighted imaging with ADC mapping. The data were entered into MS EXCEL spreadsheet and analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. Results: Maximum patients were in the age group of 11–20 years (40%) with 58% males and 42% females. Lower limb infections were common, especially the involvement of the hip joint. Pain and swelling were the most common symptoms as seen in 96% and 88% of the patients respectively. DWMRI was able to diagnose and lay down significantly different ADC values for different musculoskeletal infections. The mean ADC values were higher for acute infections and lower for chronic infections. Conclusions: DWMRI holds an important role in the investigation profile for musculoskeletal infections and must be used wherever deemed necessary to avoid unnecessary referrals and treatments.