Lumber Spine Incidental Findings During Discopathy Evaluation Using MRI

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the lumbar spine with the standard protocol can be useful in the diagnosis of incidental extraspinal lesions. The study aims to find the frequency and types of incidental findings (IF)of lumbosacral spine MRI in adult patients with suspected discopathy. It was a prospective analytical study involving MRI scans performed on a group of 50 patients (22 males and 28 females) in the age range of 25-85 years old reporting clinically chronic back pain without a history of acute trauma. The data was collected in Yastabshiroon Medical Centre, Khartoum, Sudan between February 2018 and February 2019. The relationship between incidental findings (IF) and patients’ age and gender was assessed using a chi’ squared test. The age ranges of patients less than 35, 36-45 years, 46-55 years, 56-65 years, and more than 65 years comprised 10.0%,18.0%, 22.0%, 20.0%, and 30% accordingly. All patients had incidental findings, and hemangioma was the most frequent finding (18 patients, 36%) followed by an abscess (15 patients, 30%). There was no significant association between gender and type of diagnosed incidental finding (IF), most frequently IF Lumber reported finding in MRI hemangioma, abscess, and collapse.