Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Neuroradiol J. 2024 Jun;37(3):332-335. doi: 10.1177/19714009231224415. Epub 2024 Jan 16.
The vestibular ganglion, or Scarpa's ganglion, is a cluster of afferent vestibular neurons within the internal auditory canal (IAC). There is minimal literature describing enhancement of this region on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and its correlation to clinical symptoms. Here, we sought to find the prevalence of enhancement at Scarpa's ganglion, and determine whether such enhancement correlates with demographics or clinical symptoms.
A retrospective review was performed of consecutive patients with an MRI of the IAC between 3/1/2021 and 5/20/2021. Two neuroradiologists independently reviewed for T1 and FLAIR enhancement of the Scarpa's ganglion on post-contrast fat-saturated T1 and post-contrast FLAIR images. Discrepancies were agreed upon by consensus. Clinical variables (hearing loss, vestibular symptoms, tinnitus, and MRI indication) were gathered from a retrospective chart review.
Eighty-nine patients were included (51 female); the mean age was 58 (range 19-85). The most common MRI indication was hearing loss ( = 53). FLAIR enhancement was present on the right in 7 patients, on the left in 7 patients, and bilaterally in 6 patients. No enhancement was seen on post-contrast T1 images. There was no statistically significant correlation between consensus FLAIR on at least one side and age ( = .74), gender ( = .29), hearing loss ( = .32), hearing loss side ( = .39), type of hearing loss ( = .87), vestibular symptoms ( = .71), or tinnitus ( = .81).
Enhancement is present in the minority of patients on post-contrast FLAIR images. If seen, it should be considered an uncommon but not unexpected finding with no clinical significance.
前庭神经节，又称 Scarpa 神经节，是位于内听道（IAC）内的传入前庭神经元簇。目前关于该区域在磁共振成像（MRI）上的增强表现及其与临床症状的相关性的文献很少。在这里，我们试图确定 Scarpa 神经节增强的发生率，并确定这种增强是否与人口统计学或临床症状相关。
对 2021 年 3 月 1 日至 5 月 20 日期间连续进行 IAC MRI 的患者进行了回顾性研究。两位神经放射科医生独立对增强后 T1 脂肪饱和 T1 和增强后 FLAIR 图像上 Scarpa 神经节的 T1 和 FLAIR 增强进行了评估。通过共识达成不一致意见。从回顾性图表中收集了临床变量（听力损失、前庭症状、耳鸣和 MRI 指征）。
共纳入 89 例患者（51 例女性）；平均年龄为 58 岁（范围 19-85 岁）。最常见的 MRI 指征是听力损失（=53）。FLAIR 增强在右侧 7 例，左侧 7 例，双侧 6 例。增强后 T1 图像未见增强。至少一侧的共识 FLAIR 与年龄（=0.74）、性别（=0.29）、听力损失（=0.32）、听力损失侧（=0.39）、听力损失类型（=0.87）、前庭症状（=0.71）或耳鸣（=0.81）之间无统计学显著相关性。
增强在后 FLAIR 图像上仅见于少数患者。如果出现，应认为是一种不常见但并非意外的发现，无临床意义。
