Utility of unenhanced fat-suppressed T1-weighted MRI in children with sickle cell disease -- can it differentiate bone infarcts from acute osteomyelitis? Unenhanced T1-W fat-saturated MR images have been proposed as a potential tool to differentiate bone infarcts from osteomyelitis.


 To evaluate the reliability of unenhanced T1-W fat-saturated MRI for differentiation between bone infarcts and acute osteomyelitis in children with SCD.


 We retrospectively reviewed the records of 31 children (20 boys, 11 girls; mean age 10.6 years, range 1.1-17.9 years) with SCD and acute bone pain who underwent MR imaging including unenhanced T1-W fat-saturated images from 2005 to 2010.  A pediatric radiologist reviewed all MR imaging and was blinded to clinical information.  None of the additional evaluated imaging parameters on unenhanced MRI proved reliable in differentiating these diagnoses.


 The bone marrow signal intensity on unenhanced T1-W fat-saturated MR images is not a reliable criterion to differentiate bone infarcts from osteomyelitis in children.
MRI
Utility of unenhanced fat-suppressed T1-weighted MRI in children with sickle cell disease -- can it differentiate bone infarcts from acute osteomyelitis?
T1-weighted MRI
Utility of unenhanced fat-suppressed T1-weighted MRI in children with sickle cell disease -- can it differentiate bone infarcts from acute osteomyelitis?
fat-suppressed T1-weighted MRI