OBJECTIVE: To compare the diagnostic performance of the three-dimensional turbo spin-echo (3D TSE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique with the performance of the standard two-dimensional turbo spin-echo (2D TSE) protocol at 1.5 T, in the detection of meniscal and ligament tears. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-eight patients were imaged twice, first with a standard multiplanar 2D TSE MR technique, and then with a 3D TSE technique, both in the same 1.5 T MRI scanner. The patients underwent knee arthroscopy within the first three days after the MRI. Using arthroscopy as the reference standard, we determined the diagnostic performance and agreement. RESULTS: For detecting anterior cruciate ligament tears, the 3D TSE and routine 2D TSE techniques showed similar values for sensitivity (93% and 93%, respectively) and specificity (80% and 85%, respectively). For detecting medial meniscal tears, the two techniques also had similar sensitivity (85% and 83%, respectively) and specificity (68% and 71%, respectively). In addition, for detecting lateral meniscal tears, the two techniques had similar sensitivity (58% and 54%, respectively) and specificity (82% and 92%, respectively). There was a substantial to almost perfect intraobserver and interobserver agreement when comparing the readings for both techniques. CONCLUSION: The 3D TSE technique has a diagnostic performance similar to that of the routine 2D TSE protocol for detecting meniscal and anterior cruciate ligament tears at 1.5 T, with the advantage of faster acquisition.

Keywords: Knee; Menisci; Anterior cruciate ligament; Magnetic resonance imaging; Arthroscopy.

OBJECTIVE: To assess imaging parameters related to the morphology of the glenohumeral joint in children with unilateral brachial plexus birth palsy (BPBP), in comparison with those obtained for healthy shoulders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective search for cases of unilateral BPBP diagnosed at our facility. Only patients with a clinical diagnosis of unilateral BPBP were included, and the final study sample consisted of 10 consecutive patients who were assessed with cross-sectional imaging. The glenoid version, the translation of the humeral head, and the degrees of glenohumeral dysplasia were assessed. RESULTS: The mean diameter of the affected humeral heads was 1.93 cm, compared with 2.33 cm for those of the normal limbs. In two cases, there was no significant posterior displacement of the humeral head, five cases showed posterior subluxation of the humeral head, and the remaining three cases showed total luxation of the humeral head. The mean glenoid version angle of the affected limbs (90-α) was -9.6º, versus +1.6º for the normal, contralateral limbs. CONCLUSION: The main deformities found in this study were BPBP-associated retroversion of the glenoid cavity, developmental delay of the humeral head, and posterior translation of the humeral head.

Keywords: Birth injuries/complications; Joint diseases/diagnosis; Brachial plexus neuropathies/complications; Humeral head/abnormalities; Shoulder dislocation/diagnosis; Tomography.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in detecting periosteal reactions and to compare MRI and conventional radiography (CR) in terms of the classification of periosteal reactions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective study of 42 consecutive patients (mean age, 22 years; 20 men) with a confirmed diagnosis of osteosarcoma or Ewing's sarcoma, MRI and CR images having been acquired pretreatment. Three blinded radiologists detected periosteal reactions and evaluated each periosteal reaction subtype in CR and MRI images: Codman's triangle; laminated; and spiculated. The CR was used as a benchmark to calculate the diagnostic performance. We used the kappa coefficient to assess interobserver reproducibility. A two-tailed Fisher's exact test was used in order to assess contingency between CR and MRI classifications. RESULTS: In the detection of periosteal reactions, MRI showed high specificity, a high negative predictive value, and low-to-moderate sensitivity. For CR and for MRI, the interobserver agreement for periosteal reaction was almost perfect, whereas, for the classification of different subtypes of periosteal reaction, it was higher for the Codman's triangle subtype and lower for the spiculated subtype. There was no significant difference between MRI and CR in terms of the classifications (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: We found no difference between MRI and CR in terms of their ability to classify periosteal reactions. MRI showed high specificity and almost perfect interobserver agreement for the detection of periosteal reactions. The interobserver agreement was variable for the different subtypes of periosteal reaction.

Keywords: Periosteum; Osteosarcoma; Sarcoma, Ewing; Magnetic resonance imaging; Radiography; Reproducibility of results.

OBJECTIVE: To compare two different fat-saturated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques—STIR and T2 SPAIR—in terms of image quality, as well as in terms of their diagnostic performance in detecting sacroiliac joints (SIJ) active inflammation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included 69 consecutive patients with suspected spondyloarthritis undergoing MRI between 2012 and 2014. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was calculated with the method recommended by the American College of Radiology. Two readers evaluated SIJ MRI following ASAS criteria to assess diagnostic performance regarding the detection of active SIJ inflammation. T1 SPIR Gd+ sequence was used as the reference standard. RESULTS: The mean SNR was 72.8 for the T1 SPIR Gd+ sequence, compared with 14.1 and 37.6 for the STIR and T2 SPAIR sequences, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of STIR and SPAIR T2 sequences did not show any statistically significant differences for the diagnosis of sacroiliitis with active inflammation. CONCLUSION: Our results corroborate those in the recent literature suggesting that STIR sequences are not superior to T2 SPAIR sequences for SIJ evaluation in patients with suspected spondyloarthritis. On 1.5-T MRI, T2-weighted SPAIR sequences provide better SNRs than do STIR sequences, which reinforces that T2 SPAIR sequences may be an advantageous option for the evaluation of sacroiliitis.

Keywords: Sacroiliitis; Sacroiliac joint; Magnetic resonance imaging; Spondyloarthropathies; Signal-to-noise ratio.