Table 1.

MRI findings in non-infected and infected neuroarthropathy

MRI feature	Non-infected neuroarthropathy	Infected neuroarthropathy
Periarticular fluid collection	+	++
Sinus tract/abscess formation	−	+
Soft tissue fluid collections	Small	Large
Adjacent subcutaneous fat signal	Normal	Absent
Soft tissue enhancement	Limited to juxtaarticular soft tissue	Extensive
Subchondral degenerative cysts/intraarticular bodies	+	Disappears on follow up
Bone marrow edema	Periarticular/subchondral	Extensive, throughout the medullary bone
Bony cortex	Preserved	Erosion
‘Ghost sign’*	−	+

^*Reference 50. Refers to poor definition of the margins of a bone on T1-weighted images, that become clear after contrast administration.