• Mohamed M Aly, Abdulbaset M Al-Shoaibi, Saleh Abduraba, Ahmed J Alzahrani, and Hany Eldawoody.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Hospital, P.O Box 54146, 11514, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. drmoali26@gmail.com.
• Eur Spine J. 2022 Jan 1; 31 (1): 37-45.

PurposeTo determine the impact of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on fracture classification for low lumbar fractures (LLFs) compared to CT alone.MethodsThis study was a retrospective review of 41 consecutive patients with LLFs who underwent CT and MRI within 10 days of injury. Three reviewers classified all fractures according to AOSpine Classification and the Thoracolumbar Injury Classification (TLISS). Posterior ligamentous complex (PLC) injury in MRI was defined by black stripe discontinuity and in CT by the presence of: vertebral body translation, facet joint malalignment, horizontal laminar or spinous process fracture, and interspinous widening. The proportion of patients with AO type A/B/C and with TLISS < 5 and ≥ 5 was compared between CT and MRI. We examined the overall accuracy and individual CT findings for PLC injury.ResultsAO classification using CT was: AO type A in 26 patients (61%), type B in 7 patients (17%), and type C in 8 patients (22%). Seventeen patients (41%) had a TLISS ≥ 5 while 24 (59%) had TLISS < 5. The addition of MRI after CT changed the AO classification in only 2 patients (4.9%, 95% CI (0.6-16.5%) due to upgrade of type A to type B or vice versa, but did not change TLISS from < 5 to ≥ 5 [p< 0.0001; 95% CI (0.59, 0.77)].ConclusionsCT was highly accurate (95%) for diagnosis of PLC injury in LLFs. Addition of MRI after CT did not change the AO classification or TLISS, compared to CT alone, thus suggesting limited additional value of MRI for PLC assessment or fracture classification.© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

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