Health technology assessment on the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and clinically isolated syndromes (CIS).

This work is the result of a health technology assessment for the Flemish regional government, Belgium, performed in 2006. A search of the available literature in the databases Medline and EMBASE was performed to find evidence for a rational choice between CT and MRI techniques in the work-up of patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) with a suspicion for multiple sclerosis (MS), and in follow-up exams performed in such patients. From the presented evidence, in patients referred for CIS or MS, MR is superior to CT for detection and characterization of brain and spine lesions.