Spondyloarthritis & psoriatic arthritis
MRI-based synthetic CT: a new method for structural damage assessment in the spine in patients with axial spondyloarthritis – a comparison with low-dose CT and radiography
Authors' conclusion
With ldCT as reference standard, MRI-based sCT of the spine showed very high specificity and a sensitivity much higher than radiography, despite limited reader training.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA)
- Participants
- 17 patients
- Comparison
- MRI-based synthetic CT vs radiography, with low-dose CT of the entire spine as reference standard
- Outcome
- Detection of spinal new bone formation (NBF), Canada-Denmark NBF assessment system
Methodological detailsreaders blinded to other imaging/clinical information, four readers, low-dose CT (ldCT) as reference standard
- Readers blinded to other imaging/clinical information
- Four readers
- ldCT as reference standard
Performance
As reported in the abstract
Detection of NBF, entire spine (ldCT as reference standard)
| Test or model | Sensitivity | Specificity |
|---|---|---|
| Synthetic CT (sCT) | 0.67 | >0.95 |
| Radiography | 0.13 | >0.95 |
Sensitivity
Synthetic CT (sCT)0.67
Radiography0.13
Specificity
Synthetic CT (sCT)>0.95
Radiography>0.95
Further findings
| Outcome | sCT | Radiography | ldCT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean NBF lesion scores (four readers) | 209 | 37 | 188 |
| NBF at anterior vertebral corners, mean scores | 166 | 35 | 163 |
| Detection of NBF, levels assessable on radiography (C2-T1 and T12-S1) | |||
| Sensitivity | 0.61 | 0.48 | — not stated in the abstract |
| Specificity | >0.90 | >0.90 | — not stated in the abstract |
| Detection of NBF, facet joints | |||
| Sensitivity | 0.46 | 0.03 | — not stated in the abstract |
| Specificity | >0.94 | >0.94 | — not stated in the abstract |
| Mean inter-reader agreement (kappa), all locationsBest for anterior corners | |||
| Kappa | 0.58 | 0.56 | 0.68 |
— not stated in the abstract
Original publication
MRI-based synthetic CT: a new method for structural damage assessment in the spine in patients with axial spondyloarthritis – a comparison with low-dose CT and radiography. Ann Rheum Dis. Published 15 May 2024. doi:10.
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