Jemds.com Original Research Article J. Evolution Med. Dent. Sci./eISSN- 2278-4802, pISSN- 2278-4748/ Vol. 7/ Issue 03/ Jan. 15, 2018 Page 384 EVALUATION OF DEGENERATIVE DISEASE OF LUMBOSACRAL SPINE BY 3 TESLA MRI Pintu Biswas 1 , Asim De 2 1 Senior Resident, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Agartala Government Medical College, Agartala, Tripura. 2 Associate Professor, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Agartala Government Medical College, Agartala, Tripura. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Low back pain (LBP) secondary to degenerative disease of spine is a condition related to musculoskeletal system and affecting mostly middle aged and older persons, but now-a-days younger people are also suffering. Plain radiograph can be helpful in visualising gross anatomic changes in the intervertebral disc. But MRI is the standard imaging modality for detecting disc pathology. Aims and Objective- To evaluate imaging characteristics and extent of degenerative changes of the lumbosacral spine by 3 Tesla MRI and also to identify the associated changes and to find the pattern of pathological changes identified by MRI in low backache. MATERIALS AND METHODS Total 118 patients were studied to evaluate the MRI appearance of Degenerative disease of lumbosacral spine. The vertebrae, intervertebral discs, spinal canals and neural foramens were looked for the changes of degeneration. The spinal cord and the nerve roots were observed for signs of compression and degeneration. RESULTS Males were more frequently involved than females and they were mostly of 5 th and 6 th decades of their lives. Per patient disc involvement were 3.55%. Annular disc tear, disc herniation, narrowing of spinal canal, narrowing of lateral recess, compression of neural foramen, ligamentum flavum thickening and facetal arthropathy were common at the L4 - L5 disc level. CONCLUSION Degeneration of lumbosacral spine is the most common cause of low back pain. Multiple levels of the disc involvement are seen per person. Males are more frequently affected to the disc degeneration than females. MRI is the standard imaging modality for detecting disc pathology due to its advantages like multiplanar imaging capability, excellent soft tissue contrast, precise localisation of intervertebral disc changes and lack of radiation. KEYWORDS Degenerative Disease of Spine, Intervertebral Disc, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Low Back Pain, Spinal Canal Stenosis. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Biswas P, De A. Evaluation of degenerative disease of lumbosacral spine by 3 tesla MRI . J. Evolution Med. Dent. Sci. 2018;7(03):384-390, DOI: 10.14260/jemds/2018/85 BACKGROUND The problem of low back pain (LBP) in the developed world nears epidemic proportions and has increased with a lifetime prevalence reported to be up to 84%. [1] LBP can result from many causes including congenital spinal stenosis, neoplasm, infection, trauma and inflammatory or arthritic processes, but lumbar disc degeneration is the commonest cause of LBP. [2] Lumbar radiography may not identify all the abnormalities related to LBP symptoms and may be harmful because it exposes the gonads to ionising radiation. [3] Though CT is still used as the initial imaging modality in many institutions and correlation between CT and surgical findings were similar, routine CT imaging covers only a limited number of levels and may miss unexpected disease slightly higher or lower than the area of suspected pathology. ‘Financial or Other Competing Interest’: None. Submission 16-12-2017, Peer Review 03-01-2017, Acceptance 06-01-2018, Published 15-01-2018. Corresponding Author: Dr. Asim De, Office Lane, Opp. TOSDM Office, Agartala-799001, Tripura. E-mail: drasimde@rediffmail.com DOI: 10.14260/jemds/2018/85 When CT is performed after injection of intrathecal contrast material, the sensitivity of the examination is increased but this is an invasive procedure and associated with risks of iodinated contrast, bleeding and infection. [4] MRI has become the imaging modality of choice in the evaluation of spinal degenerative disease. MRI has several advantages including multiplanar imaging capabilities, superior soft tissue contrast and lack of ionising radiation. MRI is superior even to contrast-enhanced CT scans in distinguishing bone, disk, ligament, nerve, thecal sac and spinal cord. Pulse sequences can be adjusted to evaluate specific areas of interest or to more accurately define the disease process. [4] This study is taken to evaluate the pattern of pathological changes identified by MRI in patients with low back pain. MATERIALS AND METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Radiodiagnosis at Agartala Government Medical College and GB Pant Hospital, Agartala, Tripura over a period of 4 months from 1st September 2016 to 31st December 2016. Total 118 patients were studied by 3 Tesla MRI machine using T1 and T2 sagittal, T2 coronal, T1 and T2 axial and T2 term sagittal sequences.