Predicting Pathology From Imaging in Children Undergoing Resection of Congenital Lung Lesions.

BACKGROUND

Prenatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly obtained to define congenital lung lesions (CLL) for surgical management. Postnatal, preoperative computed tomography (CT) provides further clarity at the cost of radiation. Depending on the lesion identified, the indication for resection remains controversial. We investigated the differences in detail found on prenatal MRI and postnatal CT compared with final pathology to determine their utility in preoperative decision-making.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

All children undergoing resection of CLLs at a single institution between July 2009 and February 2018 were retrospectively identified. Their imaging, operative, and pathology reports were compared. All imaging studies were examined by pediatric radiologists with experience in prenatal CLL diagnosis.

RESULTS

Fifty-five patients underwent CLL resection during the study period with 31 undergoing prenatal MRI, 45 postnatal CT, and 22 both. Resection was performed before 6 mo of age in 62% of patients. In the cohort undergoing both imaging studies, pathologic CLL diagnosis correlated with prenatal MRI and CT in 82% and 100% of patients, respectively (P = 0.13). Eight patients had systemic feeding vessels, of which 38% were identified on MRI, and 88% on CT (P = 0.13). Both studies had a specificity of 100% for detecting systemic feeding vessels.

CONCLUSIONS

For children where prenatal MRI detected a systemic feeding vessel, CT was redundant for preoperative planning but had greater sensitivity. Ultimately, the CLL type predicted from postnatal CT was not significantly different from that predicted by prenatal MRI; however, both imaging modalities had some level of discrepancy with pathology.