The contribution of gadolinium to the magnetic resonance diagnosis of spondylodiscitis]

To determine the contribution of Gd-DTPA to the evaluation of vertebral infections 16 MR examinations with i.v. Gd-DTPA injection were performed on 12 patients with diagnosis of spondylodiscitis. All patients were examined with both SE T1- and SE T2-weighted sequences. The SE T1-weighted sequence was repeated following i.v. Gd-DTPA injection (0.1 nmol/kg). Signal intensities and visibility of the lesions were evaluated with MR. For each lesion the grade of visibility on SE T1-weighted sequence was compared with the grade of visibility on SE T2-weighted sequence. Moreover, for each study the information obtained by the combined evaluation of SE T1-weighted sequence without and with Gd-DTPA was compared with the information obtained by combined SE T1- and SE T2-weighted sequences. Gd-DTPA was useful in the evaluation of lesions of the discal space, showing in all cases an area of low signal intensity with peripheral enhancement; this finding allowed, in some cases, to differentiate mild spondylodiscitis from degenerative features. Gd-DTPA was also very useful in determining the extent of the disease: in comparison with MR study without contrast media, the combined evaluation of SE T1-weighted sequence without and with Gd-DTPA better showed the extent of the disease in 7/8 cases (88%).