MR imaging of brain contusions: a comparative study with CT

• Published in: American journal of neuroradiology : AJNR Vol. 9; no. 2; pp. 269 - 278
• Main Authors: KOMIYAMA, M, BABA, M, HAKUBA, A, NISHIMURA, S, INOUE, Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oak Brook, IL American Society of Neuroradiology 1988
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Injuries of the nervous system and the skull. Diseases due to physical agents; Medical sciences; Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents; Human; Nervous system diseases; Radiodiagnosis; Craniocerebral; Contusion; Computerized axial tomography; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Trauma; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0195-6108; 1936-959X

Ninety-eight brain contusions in 17 patients served as a data base for a comparative study of MR and CT for defining brain contusions. MR was the more sensitive technique, detecting 98% of the brain contusions compared with only 56% by CT. CT was slightly better for showing hemorrhagic components, documenting 77% of hemorrhages compared with 71% for MR. The appearance of the contusions on MR was variable, depending on the T1- and T2-weighting of the images and the constituents of the contusions, such as edema, hemorrhage, and encephalomalacia. On MR, hemorrhagic components appeared as high signal on T1-weighted images and as either low or high signal on T2-weighted images, depending on the age of the hemorrhage. The approximate ages of hemorrhagic contusions were often suggested by their appearance on T1- and T2-weighted images.
CT is very effective for evaluating acute head trauma, but MR is recommended for documenting brain contusions during the subacute and chronic stages of head injuries.