Blood Flow Mimicking Aneurysmal Wall Enhancement: A Diagnostic Pitfall of Vessel Wall MRI Using the Postcontrast 3D Turbo Spin-Echo MR Imaging Sequence

AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2018 Jun;39(6):1065-1067. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A5616. Epub 2018 Mar 29.

Abstract

Our aim was to compare the detectability of aneurysmal wall enhancement in unruptured intracranial aneurysms between conventional and motion-sensitized driven equilibrium-prepared postcontrast 3D T1-weighted TSE sequences (sampling perfection with applicationoptimized contrasts by using different flip angle evolution, SPACE). Twenty-two patients with 30 unruptured intracranial aneurysms were scanned at 3T. Aneurysmal wall enhancement was more significantly detected using conventional compared with motion-sensitized driven equilibrium-prepared SPACE sequences (10/30 versus 2/30, P < .0001). Contrast-to-noise ratio measurements did not differ between conventional and motion-sensitized driven equilibrium-prepared sequences (P = .51). Flowing blood can mimic aneurysmal wall enhancement using conventional SPACE sequences with potential implications for patient care.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Artifacts*
  • Cerebrovascular Circulation*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional / methods*
  • Intracranial Aneurysm / diagnostic imaging*
  • Intracranial Aneurysm / pathology*
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
  • Male
  • Middle Aged