Findings of retinitis on gadolinium-enhanced turbo fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images.

PURPOSE: This study sought to determine the findings of retinal inflammation on gadolinium-enhanced turbo fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (tFLAIR) images.

METHODS

Five patients with retinal abnormalities (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome complicated by cytomegalovirus retinitis, two patients; lymphoma complicated by Herpes zoster retinitis, one patient; and diabetic retinopathy, two patients) were identified on routine brain magnetic resonance imaging examinations performed with gadolinium-enhanced tFLAIR; five healthy subjects were retrospectively reviewed for comparison. Retinal signal features and thickness were evaluated comparing gadolinium-enhanced tFLAIR with turbo spin-echo T2-weighted and spin-echo T1-weighted images with and without gadolinium.

RESULTS

Abnormal retinal thickening and hyperintensity were most conspicuous on gadolinium-enhanced tFLAIR images. Unenhanced T1-weighted images failed to demonstrate any abnormalities. In the enhanced tFLAIR and T1-weighted images, retinal thickness greater than 1.2 mm was abnormal. Abnormal retinal contour and signal was most apparent on the tFLAIR images.

CONCLUSIONS

Of the sequences studied, gadolinium-enhanced tFLAIR images were found to be the best in identifying incidental retinitis and diabetic retinopathy discovered on routine brain magnetic resonance imaging examinations.