Purpose

Endplate defects are commonly seen in lumbar degenerative diseases. However, little is known about endplate defects in patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS). The present study introduced a classification system for endplate defects in patients with DS based on routine MRI and explored their correlative factors.

Methods

Endplate defects were classified into 3 major categories (rim defects, focal defects and erosive defects) and 5 subtypes (anterior type, posterior type, arc type at the anterior rim, notch type and Schmorl’s nodes). Incidence rates of endplate defects were compared between slippage levels and non-slippage levels. The correlations between the endplate defects and age, sex, disc degeneration, Modic changes (MCs), body mass index (BMI), slip segment and slip degree were analyzed.

Results

Endplate defects occurred in 47.43% of endplates in DS. The most common endplate defects were rim defects. The occurrence of endplate defects, especially anterior defects, was more common at slippage levels. Endplate defects were associated with age and closely related to MCs and the severity of disc degeneration. Slip degree, segment, BMI and sex difference were not associated with endplate defects in our study. The results obtained via this novel classification system were stable and consistent.

Conclusions

The novel radiological classification system of endplate defects was reliable. Endplate defects were associated with slippage but not associated with slippage degree or slippage segment difference in DS. The correlation between the endplate defects and age, and that between the MCs and disc degeneration were important features on the MRIs of patients with spondylolisthesis.

中文翻译：

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退行性腰椎滑脱症磁共振成像的腰椎终板缺损：新型分类，特征和相关因素分析。

目的

终板缺损在腰椎退行性疾病中很常见。然而，关于退行性脊椎滑脱（DS）患者终板缺损知之甚少。本研究介绍了基于常规MRI的DS患者终板缺陷分类系统，并探讨了其相关因素。

方法

终板缺损分为三大类（边缘缺损，局灶性缺损和侵蚀性缺损）和5个亚型（前缘型，后缘型，前缘弧形，缺口型和Schmorl结节）。比较了滑移水平和非滑移水平之间的终板缺陷发生率。分析了终板缺损与年龄，性别，椎间盘退变，Modic变化（MCs），体重指数（BMI），滑移节段和滑移程度之间的相关性。

结果

DS中端板缺陷占47.43％。最常见的端板缺陷是轮辋缺陷。端板缺陷，特别是前部缺陷的发生在滑移水平上更为常见。终板缺损与年龄有关，并且与MC和椎间盘退变的严重程度密切相关。滑度，节段，BMI和性别差异与我们研究中的终板缺损无关。通过这种新颖的分类系统获得的结果是稳定且一致的。

结论

端板缺陷的新型放射学分类系统是可靠的。终板缺陷与滑移有关，但与DS中的滑移度或滑移段差异无关。终板缺损与年龄之间的相关性，以及MC与椎间盘退变之间的相关性是脊椎滑脱患者MRI的重要特征。