PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Edgardo J. C. Angtuaco
AU  - James R. McConnell
AU  - William M. Chadduck
AU  - Stevenson Flanigan
TI  - MR Imaging of Spinal Epidural Sepsis
DP  - 1987 Sep 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 879--883
VI  - 8
IP  - 5
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/8/5/879.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/8/5/879.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.1987 Sep 01; 8
AB  - Four patients with spinal epidural sepsis were evaluated with MR imaging. The lesions were best visualized with spin-echo techniques with long repetition (2000 msec) and long echo (80–100 msec) times. Sagittal and axial images were equally important in defining the extent of the lesions. Comparison with available contrast-enhanced CT scans showed that MR was more definitive in the early demonstration of the abscesses. This early recognition influenced the management greatly and improved the clinical outcome significantly. The findings in our four cases support previous reports that MR is superior to other imaging methods for early recognition and anatomic localization of infectious diseases in patients suspected of having either spinal osteomyelitis or spinal epidural sepsis.