Comparison of original and modified scoring systems for inflammatory changes in the vertebral column in patients with spondyloarthritis from magnetic resonance imaging data

Magnetic resonance imaging of all sections of the vertebral column was carried out in 90 patients with spondyloarthritis to calculate inflammatory changes, by using various scoring systems. The modified scoring systems were found to significantly increase the detection rate of abnormalities in the lumbar spine as compared to the original Berlin score and that in the thoracic and lumbar sections as compared with the original Canadian score.