Jacob Razzouk, Omar Ramos, Evelyn Ouro-Rodrigues, Carlos Samayoa, Nathaniel Wycliffe, Wayne Cheng, Olumide Danisa


December 2022, pp 1 - 7 Original Article Read Full Article 10.1007/s00586-022-07484-5

First Online: 13 December 2022

Purpose

To evaluate the associations among the validated lumbar vertebral bone quality (VBQ) score, and cervical and thoracic VBQ scores.

Methods

Radiographic records of 100 patients who underwent synchronous MRI of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine were retrieved. DEXA-validated lumbar VBQ was calculated using median signal intensity (MSI) of the L1–L4 vertebrae and L3 CSF. VBQ was derived as the quotient of MSIL1–L4 divided by MSICSF. Cervical and thoracic VBQ were similarly obtained using C3–C6 and C5 CSF, and T5–T8 and T7 CSF, respectively. Paired sample t-tests were used to evaluate differences among regional VBQ scores. Independent sample t-tests were used to identify sex differences in VBQ. Regression models with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were constructed to identify associations among all permutations of anthropometric and regional VBQ measures.

Results

Mean cervical, thoracic, and lumbar VBQ scores were 3.06 ± 0.89, 2.60 ± 0.77, and 2.47 ± 0.61, respectively. Mean differences of .127 (p = 0.045) and − 0.595 (p 

Conclusion

Thoracic VBQ provides values representative of the validated lumbar VBQ score. Cervical VBQ scores are distinct from lumbar VBQ scores and do not provide adequate surrogate values of lumbar VBQ.


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