PROSPECTIVE COMPARISON OF MR-IMAGING AND DIRECT MAGNIFICATION RADIOGRAPHY IN OCCULT SCAPHOID FRACTURES

The diagnosis of occult fractures of the scaphoid bone is even more ch allenging than that of conventional fractures of the scaphoid. This st udy aimed to compare prospectively the gold standard method (plain rad iographs in four projections, after about 14 days) and the primary fin dings with direct magnification radiography (DIMA) and magnetic resona nce imaging (MRI). Primary MRI showed much higher diagnostic power tha n plain radiography at 10-14 days in occult scaphoid fractures and in detection of associated carpal injuries. This may lead to a decreasing time of disease. DIMA was inferior in detecting occult fractures of t he scaphoid.