Feasibility study in quantitative identification of fresh and old osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture by vertebral CT value and CT value difference

This study aims to assess the diagnostic utility of vertebral CT value and CT value difference in distinguishing between fresh and old osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF). A retrospective analysis was conducted on 118 patients with OVCF who underwent both MRI and CT examinations at our hospital. The nature of the fractured vertebra was determined according to MRI. The CT value of the fractured vertebrae and the mean CT value of the adjacent normal vertebrae were measured separately, and the differences between these values were calculated. Independent samples t-tests were used to compare CT value and CT value difference among all groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was employed to determine the optimal cut-off value for both CT value and CT value difference in differentiating fresh and old fractures. The study included a total of 163 fractured vertebrae from 118 patients. The CT value of fresh fractured vertebrae was significantly higher than those of adjacent normal vertebrae, which was statistically different (P 0.05). There were significant differences in CT value and CT value difference between fresh fractured vertebrae and old fractured vertebrae (P