Conventional Radiographs versus MRI in the Diagnosis of Hip Pathologies in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital:A Comparative Study

Abstract

Background: The hip joint is a major weight-bearing joint in the human body. It is often difficult to assess painful disorders of the deeply located hip clinically. This necessitates the need for imaging to arrive at an accurate diagnosis. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an imaging modality with good soft tissue contrast resolution for evaluating hip pathologies. Subjects and Methods: 76 of patients, evaluated for traumatic and non-traumatic hip pain that underwent clinical, radiological, and pathological examination at Maharajah's Institute of Medical Sciences, Nellimarla, Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh between September 2019 and August 2020 were randomly selected and included in the study. Results: 31 (40.8%) out of the total 76 patients had AVN, 9 (11.8%) patients TB hip, 15 (19.7%) patients’ osteomyelitis, 3 (3.9%) patients joint effusion, 3(3.9%) patients SCFE, 5 (6.6%) patients tumor/metastasis, 3 (3.9%) patients DDH, 3 (3.9%) perthes, 3 (3.9%) patients OA and 1 (1.3%) patients osteoporosis. Conclusion: MRI proved to be an excellent modality not only for the early diagnosis of osteonecrosis but also for the detection of infections as well as occult injuries, in and around the hip joint, with superior contrast resolution and without any harmful radiation.