More articles from Head & Neck
- Revisiting CT Signs of Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis: A Single, Blinded Study
Predicting vocal cord paralysis on the basis of CT findings is not as accurate or straightforward in prospective prediction as previously implied in prior studies.
- MRI Findings of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor–Induced Hypophysitis: Possible Association with Fibrosis
This retrospective international multicenter study comprised 20 patients with melanoma who were being treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors and clinically diagnosed with immune checkpoint inhibitor–induced hypophysitis. Three radiologists evaluated the following MR imaging findings: enlargement of the pituitary gland and stalk; homogeneity of enhancement of the pituitary gland; presence/absence of a well-defined poorly enhanced area and, if present, its location, shape, and signal intensity in T2WI; and enhancement pattern in contrast-enhanced dynamic MR imaging. Enlargement of the pituitary gland and stalk was observed in 12 and 20 patients, respectively. Nineteen patients showed poorly enhanced lesions (geographic hypoenhancing lesions) in the anterior lobe, and 11 of these lesions showed hypointensity on T2WI. Thyrotropin deficiency and corticotropin deficiency were observed in 19/20 and 12/17 patients, respectively. The authors conclude that pituitary geographic hypoenhancing lesions in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland are characteristic and frequent MR imaging findings of immune checkpoint inhibitor–induced hypophysitis.
- Readout-Segmented Echo-Planar DWI for the Detection of Cholesteatomas: Correlation with Surgical Validation
Readout-segmented echo-planar (RESOLVE)-DWI is a new alternative technique for obtaining DWI with high quality, delivering sharp images at high spatial resolution and reduced slice thickness. Fifty patients with chronic otitis media who underwent MR imaging before an operation of the middle ear were included. The MR imaging protocol consisted of axial and coronal readout-segmented echo-planar DWI with b-values of 0 and 1000 s/mm2 and 3-mm slice thickness. The readout segmented echo-planar diffusion-weighted images were fused with standard T2-weighted sequences for better anatomic assignment. Readout-segmented echo-planar DWI detected 22 of the 25 cases of surgically proved cholesteatoma. It has an accuracy of 92%, a sensitivity of 88%, a specificity of 96%, a positive predictive value of 96%, and a negativepredictive value of 89%. Readout-segmented echo-planar DWI is a promising and reliable MR imaging sequence for the detection and exclusion of cholesteatoma.