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MR imaging findings of musculoskeletal involvement in microscopic polyangiitis: a comparison with inflammatory myopathy

  • Musculoskeletal Radiology
  • Published:
La radiologia medica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the importance of MR imaging findings of musculoskeletal involvement of the lower limbs in diagnosing microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) vs polymyositis (PM) or dermatomyositis (DM).

Materials and methods

This study included 13 patients diagnosed with MPA clinically and through histologically, and 38 diagnosed with PM/DM, who underwent MR imaging of the lower limbs prior to treatment. Axial and coronal short tau inversion recovery (STIR) images were reviewed retrospectively.

Results

The sites affected by MPA were the lower legs in six (46%) patients and the thighs in seven (54%). Intramuscular hyperintensity and fascial hyperintensity were observed in all cases of MPA (100%). Fascial hyperintensity was more frequently encountered in MPA than in PM/DM (100% vs. 45%, p < 0.01). As the predominantly involved sites, the fascial regions were more frequently affected by MPA than by PM/DM (77% vs. 18%, p < 0.01). Diffuse subcutaneous fat hyperintensity was more frequently observed in MPA than in PM/DM (100% vs. 16%, p < 0.01). However, no significant differences in intramuscular hyperintensity (100% vs. 97%, p = 0.745) and subcutaneous fat hyperintensity (54% vs. 50%, p = 0.533) were found between MPA and PM/DM.

Conclusion

Intramuscular hyperintensity and fascial hyperintensity have always been observed in MPA, and the predominantly affected sites were usually the fascial regions. Compared with PM/DM, fascial hyperintensity and diffuse subcutaneous fat hyperintensity were more frequent in MPA.

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Funding

No funding was received for this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, 501-1194, Japan

    Masaya Kawaguchi, Hiroki Kato, Tomoaki Nagasawa, Yo Kaneko & Masayuki Matsuo

  2. Department of General Internal Medicine, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan

    Koichiro Taguchi, Takahide Ikeda & Hiroyuki Morita

  3. Department of Pathology, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan

    Tatsuhiko Miyazaki

Authors
  1. Masaya Kawaguchi
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  2. Hiroki Kato
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  3. Tomoaki Nagasawa
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  4. Yo Kaneko
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  5. Koichiro Taguchi
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  6. Takahide Ikeda
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  7. Hiroyuki Morita
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  9. Masayuki Matsuo
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Contributions

Masaya Kawaguchi, Hiroki Kato, and Yo Kaneko are guarantor of integrity of the entire study. Masaya Kawaguchi, Hiroki Kato, Yo Kaneko, and Tomoaki Nagasawa contributed to study concepts and design. Masaya Kawaguchi, Hiroki Kato, and Tomoaki Nagasawa contributed to literature research. Koichiro Taguchi, Takahide Ikeda, and Tatsuhiko Miyazaki contributed to clinical studies. Hiroki Kato and Tatsuhiko Miyazaki contributed to experimental studies/data analysis. Hiroki Kato contributed to statistical analysis. Masaya Kawaguchi and Hiroki Kato prepared the manuscript. Hiroki Kato, Hiroyuki Morita, and Matsuo Masayuki edited the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Masaya Kawaguchi.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in the 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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The requirement for informed consent was waived due to the retrospective nature of this study.

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Kawaguchi, M., Kato, H., Nagasawa, T. et al. MR imaging findings of musculoskeletal involvement in microscopic polyangiitis: a comparison with inflammatory myopathy. Radiol med 126, 1601–1608 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-021-01407-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-021-01407-y

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