Comparison between MRI and computed tomography with myelography in cervical radiculopathy diagnosis

A prospective study was undertaken to compare the accuracy of surface coil magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography with myelography (CTM) in the determination of cervical radiculopathy with or without myelopathy. Twenty five patients underwent both imaging studies. The separately imaging diagnosis and the surgical findings were the basis of this study. The based-MRI and based-CTM predictions were not significant. MRI predicted two disc herniations that CTM did not predict. CTM predicted a combination of disk herniations and stenosis and one more lateral stenosis that MRI did not predict. Among the fourteen patients who underwent surgery, one underwent surgery only on based-MRI prediction, it was a disc herniation: one patient was operated on only on based-CTM prediction, it was a stenosis. In these operated patients, the predictive value of the both imaging modalities was not significant. In this report the diagnostic assessment of MRI and CTM was overall the same. The major advantages of MRI were its ability to display all the cervical spine, to study the disk pathology and to delineate a signal alteration within cord substance but the disadvantage was the difficulty to characterize the osteophytes made of cortical bone which did not give signal