“Quick” MRIs without contrast in the setting of pediatric abscess drainage: A comparative analysis of clinical outcomes
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Read the article on jpedsurg.org ↗Article · Jan 2021 · 1 min read
In brief
In brief
Retrospective study of 111 pediatric patients demonstrates that rapid, non-contrast MRI protocols are clinically equivalent to CT for guiding percutaneous abscess drainage procedures. Outcomes including additional drain placements, complications, and recurrence rates showed no significant differences, supporting MRI as a radiation-sparing alternative in this population.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Abstract
Background/Purpose
To assess the use of "quick" MRI without contrast in the setting of percutaneous drain management in pediatric patients.
Methods
A retrospective medical record review was conducted to compare "quick" MRI without contrast to CT in the pediatric percutaneous drain placement setting. The study included 111 patients under 18-years-old having undergone percutaneous drain placement between January 2014 and January 2019. The "quick" MRI protocol consists of axial single-shot-fast-spin-echo (SSFSE) and fat-saturated SSFSE coronal sequences. Primary clinical outcomes included number of additional drain placement procedures, complications, length of hospitalization, and repeat drainage within 6 months following drain-free interval. The use of "quick" MRI post-procedurally was also investigated.
Results
Patients with pre-drain "quick" MRIs instead of CTs had no significant difference in the need for additional drain placement (p = 1), length of hospitalization (p = 0.275), or drainage complications (p = 0.728). Patients receiving "quick" MRI for follow-up imaging post-drain placement had no greater rate of repeat drainage within 6 months of initial drain discontinuation (p = 0.90) when compared to patients having CT.
Conclusions
Pre and post-drainage procedure "quick" MRIs were found to be equivalent to CT in regard to several key clinical outcomes.