High‐field magnetic resonance imaging of paranasal sinus inflammatory disease

Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging using a 1.5 tesla magnet and a spin echo technique has revealed a remarkably intense signal from abnormal tissue in the human paranasal sinuses. Inflammatory disease in the maxillary, sphenoid, ethmoid, and frontal sinuses has been detected and demonstrated with greater clarity than any other available technique. The pathophysiologic basis for the intense signal has not been defined. These observations do, however, provide an opportunity to discover, clarify, and study paranasal sinus disease. Acute upper respiratory disease, allergic episodes, and the effect of drug treatment based on the MR signal and pathology can now be investigated with this technique. In addition, this may form a basis for assessing the epidemiology of paranasal sinus pathology.

Perennial allergic rhinitis and chronic sinusitis: correlation with rhinologic risk factors

“…Some authors maintain that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is more accurate than CT for soft‐tissue analysis (35, 36). Nevertheless, the use of MRI to diagnose sinusitis has some drawbacks: its high cost, the need of sedation in patients with claustrophobia, and the lack of data on bone tissue (37).…”

A nuclear magnetic resonance investigation of the upper airways in ferrets. i. effects of histamine and methacholine

“…Studies of abnormal tissue in the human paranasal sinuses by Moore et al (20) have revealed inflammatory diseases with T 2 values ranging from 152 to 283 ms (or R2 values from 3.5 to 6.6 s-I). These values are similar to the R2 obtained for whole blood reported herein and by others ( 3 3 ) .…”

“…For those animals in Group 1, HS was dosed unilaterally to the nostril showing the lower intensity in the baseline image of the nasal turbinates (side A). Histamine was administered in five consecutive increasing doses (20,40, 80, 160, 3 15 nmol) at 20-min intervals. The contralateral (higher intensity) nostril (side B) was dosed with an equal volume of saline (vehicle).…”

Imaging of the Paranasal Sinuses

“…The examination of the anatomy and pathology of paranasal sinuses, as seen by MRI as well as CT, shows a wide variety of findings in a range of 15% to 40% of all adults that undergo imaging (Conner et al, ). Some of the findings can be correlated to acute upper respiratory infection and allergic episodes with a typical seasonal pattern (Moore et al, ). But most of the abnormalities in the paranasal sinuses were unrelated to the patients' presenting problems (Moser et al, ) and are, therefore, often reported as incidental findings on scans performed for indications other than the evaluation of a paranasal sinus pathology.…”

“…Inflammatory disease in the maxillary, sphenoid, ethmoid, and frontal sinuses is detected and demonstrated with greater clarity than any other available technique. The additional administration of gadolinium as a contrast agent allows detection and characterization of malignant processes and their margins, along with detection of extension and infiltration when fat‐saturated T 1 ‐weighted spin echo techniques are applied (Moore et al, ).…”