Objective To review imaging use in the diagnosis of thoracolumbar burst fractures and to determine the diagnostic va-lue of different imaging methods. Methods One hundred and fourteen patients with 120 thoracolumbar burst fractures were retrospectively reviewed. Pl-ain radiographs were available in all cases; CT scans and MRI were obtained in 96 and 74 cases, respectively. Results A total of 27 burst fractures were misdiagnosed as other types of fractures on radiographs alone, and accounted for 22.5% of all fractures. The results indicated that plain radiographs often fail to delineate the pathological features of thor-acolumbar burst fractures, leading to delay in diagnosis. Conclusion In regard to thoracolumbar injury diagnosis, burst fractures should be differentiated from compression frac-tures. CT should be routinely indicated and MRI examination, when necessary, may be simultaneously considered.
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