Retrospective comparative study of lumbar spine MRI texture analysis in diagnosing bone marrow edema lesions in ankylosing spondylitis and non-ankylosing spondylitis.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the optimal index for distinguishing ankylosing spondylitis (AS) from non-AS by employing texture analysis of bone marrow edema (BME) in lumbar spine MR images.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis, involving patients meeting specific criteria with positive BME signs in lumbar spine MRI. We compared 72 cases (78 lesions) from the AS group with 67 cases (84 lesions) from the non-AS group.