A CORRELATION OF CERVICAL MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING AND DISCOGRAPHY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC DISCOGRAMS

Study Design. The morphology of sagittal T2-weighted magnetic resonanc e imaging (MR) of the cervical spine was correlated with provocative d iscography and subsequent computed tomography (CT) discograms in 52 pa tients with discogenic pain. Objectives. The authors determined if the morphology of cervical spine discs, as seen on MRI, correlates with d iscography/CT discograms in patients with discogenic pathology. Summar y of Background Data. Several studies have demonstrated a correlation between MRI and discography in the lumbar spine. No studies have attem pted to show if this relationship exists in the cervical spine region. Methods. The morphology of cervical T2-weighted MRI was characterized with regard to the disc nuclear signal and posterior anulus status. P rovocative discography was evaluated with regard to positive or negati ve responses. Computed tomography was performed after discography on e ach patient. Results. There was no correlation between pain response o r morphology as seen on either discography or CT discography, A signif icant correlation was found between abnormality as seen on MRI and pai n responses on discography but the false-positive and false-negative r ates were high. Conclusion. Our results suggest that several MRI patte rns correlate well with positive or negative cervical discography resp onses while several other patterns are equivocal. Magnetic resonance i maging is a useful adjunct to cervical discography but there are some MRI patterns that cannot be considered pathologic, and discography is required to diagnose discogenic pain syndrome.