RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 MR Imaging of Brain Contusions: A Comparative Study with CT
JF American Journal of Neuroradiology
JO Am. J. Neuroradiol.
FD American Society of Neuroradiology
SP 269
OP 278
VO 9
IS 2
A1 Hesselink, John R.
A1 Dowd, Christopher F.
A1 Healy, Mark E.
A1 Hajek, Paul
A1 Baker, Lori L.
A1 Luerssen, Thomas G.
YR 1988
UL http://www.ajnr.org/content/9/2/269.abstract
AB Ninety-eight brain contusions in 17 patients served as a data base for a comparative study of MR and CT for defining brain contusions. MR was the more sensitive technique, detecting 98% of the brain contusions compared with only 56% by CT. CT was slightly better for showing hemorrhagic components, documenting 77% of hemorrhages compared with 71% for MR. The appearance of the contusions on MR was variable, depending on the T1- and T2-weighting of the images and the constituents of the contusions, such as edema, hemorrhage, and encephalomalacia. On MR, hemorrhagic components appeared as high signal on T1-weighted images and as either low or high signal on T2-weighted images, depending on the age of the hemorrhage. The approximate ages of hemorrhagic contusions were often suggested by their appearance on T1- and T2-weighted images. CT is very effective for evaluating acute head trauma, but MR is recommended for documenting brain contusions during the subacute and chronic stages of head injuries.