Utility of unenhanced fat-suppressed T1-weighted MRI in children with sickle cell disease — can it differentiate bone infarcts from acute osteomyelitis?

Background Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at risk of bone infarcts and acute osteomyelitis. The clinical differentiation between a bone infarct and acute osteomyelitis is a diagnostic challenge. Unenhanced T1-W fat-saturated MR images have been proposed as a potential tool to differentiate bone infarcts from osteomyelitis.