Citation

Hruşcã A, Rãchişan AL, Rödl S, Sorantin E. Can. Assoc. Radiol. J. 2017; 68(2): 217-223.

Affiliation

Division of Pediatric Radiology, Department of Radiology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Canadian Association of Radiologists, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.carj.2016.12.001

PMID

28343728

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Pediatric cerebral hypoxic-ischemic injury frequently results in severe neurological outcome. Imaging with diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWi) demonstrates that the acute cerebral injury and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) allow the assessment of the severity of brain damage. The main objective was to examine if spatial distribution of reductions in ADC values is associated with clinical outcome in drowned children.

METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 7 children (7 examinations) suffering from a hypoxic-ischemic event who underwent DWi. Seven subjects with normal DWi served as controls. The mean patient age was 4.88 ± 2.93 years and the male-to-female ratio was 5:2. The neurological outcome was divided into 2 categories: 4 children with Apallic syndrome and 3 deaths. We analysed the differences between the drowned children and the control group regarding clinical data, DWi abnormalities, and ADC values.

RESULTS: The ADC values in the occipital and parietal grey matter were significantly different between the drowned children (765.14 ± 65.47 vs 920.95 ± 69.62; P = .003) and the control group (670.82 ± 233.99 vs 900.66 ± 92.72; P = .005). The ADC showed low values in the precentral area also (P = .044).

CONCLUSION: The ADC reduction may be useful to predict the poor outcome in drowned children and can be a valuable tool for clinical assessment.

Copyright © 2016 Canadian Association of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Apparent diffusion coefficient; Cerebral; Diffusion-weighted imaging; Drowning