Diffusion-weighted MR imaging and utility of ADC measurements in characterizing nerve and muscle changes in diabetic patients on ankle DWI studies: a cross-sectional study

Objective To evaluate the utility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements from ankle MRI diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) studies in identifying neuropathic changes in diabetic patients. Methods In total, 109 consecutive ankle MRI scans ( n = 101 patients) at a single tertiary care county hospital from November 1, 2019, to July 11, 2021, who met the inclusion criteria were identified. Patients were divided into 2 cohorts: diabetic ( n = 62) and non-diabetic ( n = 39). Demographics, HgbA1c, neuropathy diagnosis, and image quality data were collected. Abductor hallucis (AH) ADC mean and minimum (min) values and posterior tibial nerve (PTN) ADC mean and minimum values were measured. Student t-test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient analysis were performed using R. Results Diabetic patients had significantly higher mean and min ADC values (× 10 −3 mm 2 /s) of the AH muscle (mean: 1.77 vs 1.39, p