| Objective To study the accuracy and specificity of ultrasonography in detecting the injury and the degree of injury to the posterior thoracolumbar ligament complex. To determine whether ultrasound can be used to evaluate the injury of posterior ligament complex in some special cases.Methods A total of 87 patients with thoracolumbar spinal fracture caused by trauma from October 2021 to May 2024 were collected and treated in the department of orthopedics, the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University. Inclusion criteria: Thoracolumbar spine fracture, single segment fracture, definite trauma history; exclusion criteria: fracture more than 5 days, pathological fracture, fracture combined with dislocation. All patients underwent ultrasound and MRI of the injured vertebrae. Injury to the posterior ligamentous complex was assessed and recorded. According to the results of MRI, the sensitivity, specificity and concordance rate of ultrasound in assessing injury to different parts of the PLC were analysed.Results Ultrasound detected posterior ligament complex injury in 48 cases and negative in 39 cases, MRI detected posterior ligament complex injury in 53 cases and negative in 34 cases. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy rate of ultrasound in the evaluation of supraspinous and interspinous ligament injuries were 0.89, 0.97 and 0.92, respectively.Conclusion In the evaluation of posterior ligament complex injury, the results of ultrasound have high diagnostic value, and ultrasound has the advantages of portability, safety and real-time. In special cases such as patients with claustrophobia and equipped with pacemakers, it can be used as a method to evaluate the injury of posterior ligament complex injury. |
