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T2-mapping of the sacroiliac joints at 1.5 Tesla: a feasibility and reproducibility study

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Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the reproducibility of T2 relaxation time measurements of the sacroiliac joints at 1.5 T.

Materials and methods

Healthy volunteers underwent an oblique axial multislice multiecho spin-echo sequence of the sacroiliac joints at 1.5 T. Regions of interest were manually drawn using a dedicated software by two musculoskeletal radiologists to include the cartilaginous part of the sacroiliac joints. A senior radiologist performed the measurement twice, while a resident measured once. Intra- and inter-observer reproducibility was tested using the Bland-Altman method. Association between sex and T2 relaxation times was tested using the Mann-Whitney U test. Correlation between T2 relaxation times and body mass index (BMI) was tested using the Spearman’s rho.

Results

Eighty sacroiliac joints of 40 subjects (mean age: 28 ± 4.8 years, range: 20–43; mean BMI: 23.3 ± 3.1, range: 18.9–30) were imaged. The mean T2 values obtained by the senior radiologist in the first series of measurements were 42 ± 4.4 ms, whereas in the second series were 40.7 ± 4.5 ms. The mean T2 values obtained by the radiology resident were 41.1 ± 4.2 ms. Intra-observer reproducibility was 88% (coefficient of repeatability = 3.8; bias = 1.28; p < .001), while inter-observer reproducibility was 86% (4.7; −.88; p < .001). There was significant association between sex and T2 relaxation times (p = .024) and significant inverse correlation between T2 relaxation times and BMI (r = −.340, p = .002).

Conclusion

The assessment of T2 relaxation time measurements of sacroiliac joints seems to be highly reproducible at 1.5 T. Further studies could investigate the potential clinical application of this tool in the sacroiliac joints.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Di.Bi.Med, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 127, 90127, Palermo, Italy

    Domenico Albano, Rodolfo Bignone, Massimo Midiri, Roberto Lagalla & Massimo Galia

  2. Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Via Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy

    Vito Chianca, Renato Cuocolo & Arturo Brunetti

  3. Department of Rheumatology, Di.Bi.Mis, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127, Palermo, Italy

    Francesco Ciccia

  4. Unit of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, Via Riccardo Galeazzi 4, 20161, Milan, Italy

    Luca Maria Sconfienza

  5. Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Festa del Perdono 7, 20122, Milan, Italy

    Luca Maria Sconfienza

Authors
  1. Domenico Albano
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  2. Vito Chianca
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  3. Renato Cuocolo
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  4. Rodolfo Bignone
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  5. Francesco Ciccia
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  6. Luca Maria Sconfienza
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  7. Massimo Midiri
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  8. Arturo Brunetti
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  9. Roberto Lagalla
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  10. Massimo Galia
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Correspondence to Domenico Albano.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Albano, D., Chianca, V., Cuocolo, R. et al. T2-mapping of the sacroiliac joints at 1.5 Tesla: a feasibility and reproducibility study. Skeletal Radiol 47, 1691–1696 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-018-2951-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-018-2951-3

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