ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to provide basic biometric data on Korean adults through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based measurements of the distances between the apex of sacral hiatus (SH) and the termination of dural sac (DS), and between SH and conus medullaris (CM) because they are critical to the performance of epidural neuroplasty. A total of 200 patients (88 males and 112 females) with back pain, who had no spine fracture, significant spinal deformity, and spondyloisthesis were selected for this study. The subjects were of mean age 54.3 (20~84) years and mean height 161.3 cm (135~187). T2-weighted MRI images were used for correlation analysis to evaluate the relationships between the distances, and variables such as sex and height. In all patients, the mean distance between SH and DS was 62.8±9.4 mm and the mean distance between SH and CM was 232.2±21.8 mm. The minimum distance and the maximum distance between SH and DS were 34.8 mm and 93.9 mm respectively, and the minimum distance and the maximum distance between SH and CM were 155.0 mm and 284.0 mm respectively. In female patients, both the distances between the SH and DS, and between SH and CM were shorter when compared to those of the male patients (p<0.05). Both the distances between SH and DS and between SH and CM showed a significant correlation with height (p<0.01). The results of this study will provide a useful biometric data on the distances between SH and DS and between SH and CM in Korean in ensuring clinical safety and in the development of more effective catheterization techniques for epidural neuroplasty in Korean.