RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Comparative Evaluation of Fungal, Tubercular, and Pyogenic Brain Abscesses with Conventional and Diffusion MR Imaging and Proton MR Spectroscopy
JF American Journal of Neuroradiology
JO Am. J. Neuroradiol.
FD American Society of Neuroradiology
SP 1332
OP 1338
DO 10.3174/ajnr.A0548
VO 28
IS 7
A1 G. Luthra
A1 A. Parihar
A1 K. Nath
A1 S. Jaiswal
A1 K.N. Prasad
A1 N. Husain
A1 M. Husain
A1 S. Singh
A1 S. Behari
A1 R.K. Gupta
YR 2007
UL http://www.ajnr.org/content/28/7/1332.abstract
AB BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: It is difficult to differentiate the cause of brain abscesses with the use of CT and MR imaging. We did a comparative evaluation of pyogenic, tubercular, and fungal brain abscesses by using conventional, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and proton MR spectroscopy (PMRS) with an aim to define the unique features that may differentiate among the pyogenic, tubercular, and fungal brain abscesses.MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis on 110 patients with surgically proved brain abscesses. Imaging studies included T2, T1, postcontrast T1, DWI, and PMRS. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the wall and cavity of the abscesses were quantified. The morphologic, physiologic, and metabolite features of pyogenic (n = 91), tubercular (n = 11), and fungal (n = 8) abscesses were compared.RESULTS: The pyogenic abscesses had smooth (55/91) and lobulated (36/91) walls, whereas the tubercular abscesses had smooth (4/11), lobulated (6/11), or crenated walls (1/11) with no intracavitary projections. The fungal abscesses showed irregular walls (lobulated 4/8, crenated 4/8) with intracavitary projections (8/8). The wall as well as the cavity showed low ADC in the pyogenic and tubercular abscesses. In the fungal abscesses, the wall and projections showed low ADC (8/8); however, the cavity itself showed high ADC (8/8). PMRS showed cytosolic amino acids (89/91), acetate (25/91), and succinate (18/91) in the pyogenic abscesses, whereas lipid/lactate (11/11) was seen in the tubercular abscesses. The fungal abscesses showed lipid (4/8), lactate (7/8), amino acids (4/8), and multiple peaks between 3.6 and 3.8 ppm assigned to trehalose (5/8).CONCLUSION: Based on the morphologic, ADC, and metabolite information, it may be possible to differentiate among the pyogenic, tubercular, and fungal brain abscesses.