Differential diagnosis of acute from chronic osteoporotic vertebral fractures / 中国矫形外科杂志

ABSTRACT

[Objective]To investigate the differentiation of acute from chronic osteoporotic vertebral fractures.[Method]The clinical presentation,X-ray,CT and MRI of patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures were evaluated in the study.[Result]In 36 cases,64% were identified as acute and 36% with chronic osteoporotic vertebral fractures.The decreased anterior vertebral height was a most important criterium for the diagnosis of osteoporotic vertebral fractures.Degenerative changes on the X-ray film were usually found in chronic fractures.A high intense signal in a specific T2 under eliminating fat tissue was always observed in acute fracture.[Conclusion]The local back pain located at the level of the fractured vertebral body suggests an acute vertebral fracture.Degenerative changes occurred in the edged vertebra is indicative of a chronic fracture.The finding of a specific T2 high intense signal under eliminating fat tissue on MRI is a gold standard for the diagnosis of an acute vertebral fracture.