RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 1.5-T MR imaging of pituitary microadenomas: technical considerations and CT correlation.
JF American Journal of Neuroradiology
JO Am. J. Neuroradiol.
FD American Society of Neuroradiology
SP 5
OP 11
VO 9
IS 1
A1 Kulkarni, M V
A1 Lee, K F
A1 McArdle, C B
A1 Yeakley, J W
A1 Haar, F L
YR 1988
UL http://www.ajnr.org/content/9/1/5.abstract
AB Thirty-seven patients with suspected pituitary tumors were evaluated prospectively with MR imaging at 1.5 T. MR detected a microadenoma at its correct location in all eight patients who underwent transsphenoidal surgery, while CT showed a focal abnormality in the correct location in only four of the eight patients. In patients who were clinically and endocrinologically considered to harbor a microadenoma, MR detected a focal pituitary signal abnormality in 83% and CT demonstrated a focal density abnormality in 42%. Infundibular displacement, focal gland convexity, and sellar-floor abnormality were seen equally well with CT and MR. MR imaging protocol included sagittal T1-weighted spin-echo, coronal inversion-recovery, and coronal spin-echo or cardiac-gated spin-echo images. Although inversion-recovery images were superior in detecting focal pituitary lesions, some microadenomas were better seen on T2-weighted images. Cardiac-gated spin-echo images showed focal pituitary lesions better than ungated images did. Our technique demonstrates MR's superior sensitivity to CT in detecting a pituitary microadenoma.