Diffusion imaging in pediatric central nervous system infections.

Publication/Presentation Date

12-1-2001

Abstract

Our purpose was to investigate the role of diffusion imaging (DI) in central nervous system (CNS) infections in pediatric patients. It was anticipated that DI would be more sensitive than conventional MRI in the detection of the infarctive complications of infection, and possibly, in the detection of the infectious process as well. Seventeen pediatric patients, eight having meningitis,, five with herpes encephalitis, three with brain abscess or cerebritis and one with sepsis, were evaluated at 1.5-T with DI. All herpes patients had positive DI at the site of herpetic involvement, and two had the addition of watershed infarctions. DI demonstrated more lesions in three of the four cases of herpetic encephalitis. Half the meningitis cases had watershed infarction where DI was better and half had vasculitic infarctions in which DI was equal to or better than conventional MRI. Diffusion imaging was more sensitive than conventional MRI alone in detection of changes due to infections and ischemic lesions, but did not differentiate between them by DI or apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), although anatomic distribution of lesions proved useful.

Volume

43

Issue

12

First Page

1031

Last Page

1039

ISSN

0028-3940

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences | Pediatrics

PubMedID

11792040

Department(s)

Department of Pediatrics

Document Type

Article

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