Usefulness of contrast-enhanced 3-dimensional T1-VISTA in the diagnosis of facial neuritis: comparison with contrast-enhanced T1-TSE.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Compared with 2-dimensional imaging, 3D-reformatted imaging is a valuable technique that offers improved anatomic accuracy with minimal flow artifact and thinner sections without gaps between slices. Our aim was to evaluate the usefulness of CE 3D T1-VISTA with fat suppression sequences compared with CE T1-TSE with fat suppression sequences in patients with facial neuritis.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

The study enrolled 32 consecutive patients who underwent IAC MR imaging for Bell's palsy. IAC MR scanning, including CE T1-VISTA and CE T1-TSE, was performed in all patients using a 3T scanner. The order of the scans was random. Signal intensity was measured at three segments (canalicular, labyrinthine, and anterior genu) of the facial nerve by drawing a ROI along the affected side and the normal side in each segment. We compared the quantitative CR of the two MR sequences with paired t-tests.

RESULTS

In all three segments, the lesion-to-normal contrast ratios on CE 3D T1-VISTA (canalicular: 2.32; labyrinthine: 2.22; anterior genu: 1.97) were greater than those on CE T1-TSE (canalicular: 2.17; labyrinthine: 1.72; anterior genu: 1.68). The labyrinthine and anterior genu segments had significantly higher lesion-to-normal contrast ratios on CE 3D T1-VISTA in patients with facial neuritis (labyrinthine: P<0.001; anterior genu: P=0.002).

CONCLUSION

CE 3D T1-VISTA was superior to CE T1-TSE in terms of image contrast between lesions and the normal facial nerve.