More Accurate Diagnosis of TBI in Military Personnel Possible Using MRI

The results of a new study have shown that imaging patients as soon as possible after Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can lead to a more accurate detection of cerebral micro-hemorrhages.

The study was published online, in the September 15, 2015, issue of the journal Radiology. The researchers investigated the use of Magnetic Resonance (MR) susceptibility-weighted imaging for evaluating 603 US military personnel with TBI. The researchers found that it took a median time of 856 days from the moment of injury to the imaging scan, and only 7% of the 603 military service members were found to have one or more cerebral micro-hemorrhages. The researchers divided the patients into four groups based on time between injury and imaging scan—from less than three months to more than a year, and found that personnel who were imaged after more than one year had a much lower occurrence of cerebral micro-hemorrhages, compared to those who were scanned within one year after injury. Within three months of injury cerebral micro-hemorrhages were found in 24% of military personnel who were imaged, compared to only 5.2% after one year. The study also showed that 77% more micro-hemorrhages were detected using susceptibility-weighted imaging, as a result of a higher spatial resolution, and signal, compared to conventional MRI.

Dr. Gerard Riedy, MD, PhD, US National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (NICoE; Bethesda, MD, USA), said, “TBI is a large problem for our military service members and their families. We found that many of those who have served and suffered this type of injury were not imaged until many, many months after injury occurred thus resulting in lower rates of cerebral micro-hemorrhage detection which delays treatment. Early characterization of cerebral micro-hemorrhages may help to explain clinical symptoms of acute TBI and identify the severity of brain damage. We believe that having access to MRI in the field would facilitate early detection of TBI, thus providing timely treatment.”

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