Computerized tomography in the diagnosis of central and extrapontine myelinolysis.

In two patients the diagnosis of central pontine myelinolysis (CPM), suspected on clinical grounds, was supported by computerized tomographic (CT) sections made perpendicular to the pons, and confirmed on postmortem examination. Extrapontine myelinolysis was suggested on CT scans in both cases, and confirmed in one. Computerized tomography may prove to be a sensitive and accurate diagnostic test for CPM, and may aid in the detection of associated extrapontine lesions.