From the Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Herne, Ruhr-University Bochum, Herne, Germany; and the Department of Rheumatology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
X. Baraliakos, MD, Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Ruhr-University Bochum; F. Hoffmann, MD, Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Professor, Ruhr-University Bochum; X. Deng, MD, Department of Rheumatology, Chinese PLA General Hospital; Y. Wang, MD, Department of Rheumatology, Chinese PLA General Hospital; F. Huang, MD, Department of Rheumatology, Chinese PLA General Hospital; J. Braun, MD, Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Professor, Ruhr-University Bochum.
J Rheumatol. 2019 Nov;46(11):1445-1449. doi: 10.3899/jrheum.181304. Epub 2019 Feb 15.
The volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique can visualize erosive cartilage defects in peripheral joints. We evaluated the ability of VIBE to detect erosions in sacroiliac joints (SIJ) of patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) compared to the established T1-weighted MRI sequence and computed tomography (CT).
MRI (T1-weighted and VIBE) and CT scans of SIJ of 109 patients with axSpA were evaluated by 2 blinded readers based on SIJ quadrants (SQ). Erosions were defined according to Assessment of Spondyloarthritis international Society (ASAS) definitions. Scores were recorded if readers were in agreement.
Erosions were less frequently detected by CT (153 SQ) than by T1-weighted MRI (182 SQ; p = 0.008) and VIBE-MRI (199 SQ; p < 0.001 vs CT and p = 0.031 vs T1-weighted MRI). Taking CT as the gold standard, the sensitivity of VIBE-MRI (71.2%) was higher than that for T1-weighted MRI (63.4%), with similar specificity (87.3% vs 88%, respectively). In linear regression analysis, younger age was significantly associated with occurrence of erosions independently in VIBE-MRI (β = 0.384, p < 0.001) and T1-weighted MRI (β = 0.369, p < 0.001) compared to CT.
The VIBE-MRI sequence was more sensitive than T1-weighted MRI in identifying erosive damage in the SIJ, especially in younger patients. This might be due to the ability of VIBE-MRI to identify structural changes in the cartilage that have not yet extended to the underlying bone, where CT seems to be superior.
容积内插屏气检查（VIBE）磁共振成像（MRI）技术可显示外周关节侵蚀性软骨缺损。我们评估了 VIBE 检测轴性脊柱关节炎（axSpA）患者骶髂关节（SIJ）侵蚀的能力，与既定的 T1 加权 MRI 序列和计算机断层扫描（CT）进行比较。
对 109 例 axSpA 患者的 SIJ 进行 MRI（T1 加权和 VIBE）和 CT 扫描，由 2 名盲法读者基于 SIJ 象限（SQ）进行评估。根据评估强直性脊柱炎国际协会（ASAS）的定义，将侵蚀定义为病变。如果读者意见一致，则记录分数。
与 T1 加权 MRI（182 SQ；p=0.008）和 VIBE-MRI（199 SQ；p<0.001 与 CT，p=0.031 与 T1 加权 MRI）相比，CT 检测到的侵蚀病变较少（153 SQ）。以 CT 为金标准，VIBE-MRI（71.2%）的灵敏度高于 T1 加权 MRI（63.4%），特异性相似（分别为 87.3%和 88%）。在线性回归分析中，与 CT 相比，VIBE-MRI（β=0.384，p<0.001）和 T1 加权 MRI（β=0.369，p<0.001）中，年龄较小与侵蚀病变的发生显著相关。
与 T1 加权 MRI 相比，VIBE-MRI 序列在识别 SIJ 侵蚀性损伤方面更敏感，尤其是在年轻患者中。这可能是因为 VIBE-MRI 能够识别尚未扩展到 CT 似乎更优越的骨下软骨的结构变化。
