Xia Kaijun, Lei Ping, Liu Yingzhao, Chen Cen, Pan Hui, Leng Yangming, Liu Bo
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.
Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.
BMC Med Imaging. 2024 Apr 22;24(1):93. doi: 10.1186/s12880-024-01275-8.
The vestibular aqueduct (VA) serves an essential role in homeostasis of the inner ear and pathogenesis of Ménière's disease (MD). The bony VA can be clearly depicted by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), whereas the optimal sequences and parameters for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are not yet established. We investigated VA characteristics and potential factors influencing MRI-VA visibility in unilateral MD patients.
One hundred patients with unilateral MD underwent MRI with three-dimensional sampling perfection with application optimized contrasts using different flip angle evolutions (3D-SPACE) sequence and HRCT evaluation. The imaging variables included MRI-VA and CT-VA visibility, CT-VA morphology and CT-peri-VA pneumatization.
The most frequent type of MRI-VA and CT-VA visualization was invisible VA and continuous VA, respectively. The MRI-VA visibility was significantly lower than CT-VA visibility. MRI-VA visibility had a weak positive correlation with ipsilateral CT-VA visualization. For the affected side, the MRI-VA visualization was negatively correlated with the incidence of obliterated-shaped CT-VA and positively with that of tubular-shaped CT-VA. MRI-VA visualization was not affected by CT-peri-VA pneumatization.
In patients with MD, the VA visualization on 3D-SPACE MRI is poorer than that observed on CT and may be affected by its osseous configuration. These findings may provide a basis for further characterization of VA demonstrated by MRI and its clinical significance.
前庭导水管（VA）在内耳稳态及梅尼埃病（MD）发病机制中起重要作用。高分辨率计算机断层扫描（HRCT）能清晰显示骨性VA，而磁共振成像（MRI）的最佳序列和参数尚未确定。我们研究了单侧MD患者的VA特征及影响MRI-VA可见性的潜在因素。
100例单侧MD患者接受了使用不同翻转角演化的三维采样完美应用优化对比（3D-SPACE）序列的MRI检查及HRCT评估。成像变量包括MRI-VA和CT-VA的可见性、CT-VA形态及CT-VA周围气化情况。
MRI-VA和CT-VA最常见的可视化类型分别为不可见VA和连续VA。MRI-VA的可见性显著低于CT-VA的可见性。MRI-VA的可见性与同侧CT-VA的可视化呈弱正相关。对于患侧，MRI-VA的可视化与闭塞型CT-VA的发生率呈负相关，与管状CT-VA的发生率呈正相关。MRI-VA的可视化不受CT-VA周围气化的影响。
在MD患者中，3D-SPACE MRI上VA的可视化比CT上观察到的要差，且可能受其骨质结构影响。这些发现可能为进一步表征MRI显示的VA及其临床意义提供依据。
