Imaging of Avascular Necrosis of Femoral Head: Familiar Methods and Newer Trends

Avascular necrosis of the femoral head (AVN) is an increasingly common cause of musculoskeletal disability, and it poses a major diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Although patients are initially asymptomatic, AVN usually progresses to joint destruction, requiring total hip replacement, usually before the fifth decade. Avascular necrosis is characterized by osseous cell death due to vascular compromise. Avascular necrosis of bone results generally from corticosteroid use, trauma, pancreatitis, alcoholism, radiation, sickle cell disease, infiltrative diseases (e.g. Gaucher’s disease), and Caisson disease. The most commonly affected site is the femoral head and patients usually present with hip and referred knee pain. The aim of diagnostic imaging procedures in avascular femoral head necrosis is to provide the patient with a stage-adapted therapy. Therefore, a differentiated diagnostic work-up is needed. Native radiography of the hip in two planes is still the first step. Over the past years, the diagnosis of femoral head necrosis has experienced tremendous improvement due to the use of MRI and CT scans. Because of these improvements the correct stage can be diagnosed early and the appropriate therapy can be initiated immediately. Today, MRI is the most sensitive diagnostic imaging procedure. CT scans can be particularly useful to exclude subchondral fractures. The use of bone scintigraphy is restricted to exceptional cases. In Europe, the ARCO classification of avascular femoral head necrosis has been widely accepted. In this overview, we describe the specific characteristics of the different diagnostic imaging procedures and illustrate them with appropriate imaging material.