Computed tomography in the diagnosis of early ankylosing spondylitis

✍ Scribed by Adel G. Fam; Joel D. Rubenstein; Hyacinth Chin-Sang; Frances Y. K. Leung

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1985
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 862 KB
• Volume: 28
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0004-3591
• DOI: 10.1002/art.1780280813

✦ Synopsis

Computed tomography (CT) was compared with plain radiography and quantitative sacroiliac (SI) scintigraphy in 28 patients with early ankylosing spondylitis (AS) of 510 years duration. Compared with conventional radiography, CT improved delineation of the SI joints and revealed more abnormalities and higher grades of sacroiliitis; this was significant in patients with early AS of 1 3 years duration. Quantitative sacroiliac scintigraphy showed higher SI joint:sacrum ratios of radioisotope uptake in patients with AS compared with controls. However, its diagnostic usefulness was limited by the frequency of inconsistent results and the lack of specificity. CT examination of the SI joints may be a useful adjunct in the diagnosis of early AS.

The clinical diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is largely based upon the radiologic demonstration of sacroiliitis (1,2). However, early radiographic changes are often subtle and subject to considerable observer error (3-6). Other imaging techniques have been used in the evaluation of sacroiliac (SI) joints, including special views of SI joints (7,8), conventional