Imaging Evaluation of Acute Traumatic Brain Injury

SYNOPSIS
Hemtatoma subdurale (subdurak heamatoma ) (SDH)eshte nje nga shkaqet kryesore te
mortalitetit . Imazheria luane nje role shume te rendeishem ne vlersimin ,diagnozen, and triage
of patients me SDH .Studimet e fundit sugjerojn qe mund te ndihmojne dhe ne percaktimin e
prognozen se pacienteve .SDH konsiston ne shume entitet patologjike dhe anatomike . Here Me
ane te ketij studimi do percaktoj rolin e imazheris ne vlersimin e SDH(vecanerisht rolin e
CT)duke percaktuar dhe indikacionet e saj,benefitet dhe limetet e modaliteteve ,protokollet ,dhe
gjetjet per secilen nga entitet antomo-patologjike
Keywords: Traumatic Brain Injury, TBI, Imaging, MRI, CT

Roles for CT and MR imaging

Acute Moderate and Severe TBI

Ekzaminimet e shpejta ndihmojne te diferencojne pacientet qe kerkojne trajtim te shpejte

neurokirugjike . Noncontrast multi-detector CT (MDCT) eshte bere ekzaminimi zgjerdhur sepse
eshte i shpejte ,shume i ndjeshem ndaje demtimieve qe kerkojne trajtim te shpejt .
MRI nuk perdoret zakonisht per vlersimin fillestar ,dhe eshte pak me e ndjeshme ndaj
frakturave ,eshte me pak e disponueshme ,imazhet kerkojne me shume kohe per tu marre,dhe
eshte relativishte e kushuteshme si metode ekzaminimi ,gjithashtu nuk eshte kopatibel me shume
me disa pajisje mjeksore .Megjithate,MRI eshte shume e ndjeshme ndaj ndyshimeve patologjike
dhe eshte e dobishme per percaktimin e severitetit te

Short-term Follow-up Imaging

While MDCT eshte e rekomanduar ne pacientet me detejorime neurologjike ,studimet kane

treguar shume pak benifite per ekzaminmet follow up .Midis pacinete pozitiv per demtimet
traumatike vetem disa attribute si hemorragji subfrontale/temoporale ,pedorimi i
antikoagulanteve pas moshes 65 vjecare shfqin risk te larte per progress
Imaging Subacute/Chronic TBI

Hematomat subdurale kronike vlersohen me mire me MRI e cila ka performace me te larte se CT

ne indetifikimin e atrofis parenkimale ,demtimeve te lendes se bardhe dhe mikrohemoragjive
(MRV) are indicated to evaluate for dural venous sinus thrombosis in such cases 11.

Protokollet imazherike per hematomat subdurale

Protokollet neuroimazherike per hematomat subdurale varjojnë në varësi te pacientit dhe
rrethanave. Kjo eshte e veshtirë për ekzaminimet MRI ,e cila ofron mundësi më të madhe
zgjedhjeje sekuecash.Eshte gjithmone e rëndësishme të merren ne konsiderat dhe gjendja klinike
e pacientit ;ne disa raste, eshte e nevojshme te perdorim sekuenca te shkurtuara ne MRI ose te
perdorim vetem CT per te shkurtuar kohen e ekzaminimit time.

Routine CT protocol
Imazhet CT merren kryesisht ne trajte helikiodale ne planin aksial .Trashesia 2.5 mm perdoret
zakonisht per te vlersuar parenkimet e trurit por ne disa raste perdoret prerje me te holla
(0.625)per te vlersuar mikrofraktura.CT na lejone te marrim imazhe te rinformatuara ne plane te
ndyshime (zakonisht koronare dhe sagitale)gjithashtu dhe pamje 3D me ane te volume rendering
e cila eshte shume e dobishme per detektimin e hemorragjive intrakraniale dhe frakturave .CT
moderene zakonisht perdoren dhe software per zvogelimin e dozes

Routine MRI protocol

The recommended clinical protocol (Tier 1) tailored for TBI evaluation (Table 2) incorporates
multiplanar T1-weighted images (T1WI) (3D T1 if available), T2-weighted images (T2WI) (at
3T, 3D T2 is recommended if available), T2-FLAIR weighted, and T2*-weighted gradient-
recalled echo (GRE) or susceptibility weighted (SWI) sequences, in addition to standard
diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). SWI sequences are rapidly being added to routine TBI
imaging protocols are preferred over GRE due to their increased sensitivity for blood products 41.
Detection, localization and characterization of traumatic lesions benefit from the incoporation of
multiple imaging planes, an advantage of 3D acquisitions 9, 27, 29, 30, 32. Multiplanar imaging is
particularly helpful in detecting small lesions (e.g., traumatic brainstem injury) which can be
missed due to partial volume averaging effects or an interslice gap 30.
Table 2
Recommended MR Protocol for TBI

Field Strength 1.5T 3T

Sequence Orientation Imaging time Sequence Orientation Imaging time

(min) (min)

Preferred Sequences 3D T1W Sagittal 8 3D T1W Sagittal 4

T2W FSE Axial 3 3D T2W Sagittal 4

T2W Axial 3 T2W Axial 3

FLAIR FLAIR

DWI EPI Axial 2 DWI EPI Axial 2

3D SWI Axial 8 3D SWI Axial 6

 Field Strength 1.5T 3T

Sequence Orientation Imaging time Sequence Orientation Imaging time

(min) (min)

Total: 24 Total: 19

Alternatives T1W SE* Sagittal 3 T2W FSE† Axial 3

Sequences

2D GRE‡ Axial 3 2D GRE§ Axial 3

*
Option if 3D T1W is not available

†
Option if 3D T2W is not available

‡
Option if 3D SWI is not available

From Haacke EM, Duhaime AC, Gean AD, et al. Common data elements in radiologic imaging of traumatic brain
injury. Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI 2010;32(3):516-543; with permission
KEY POINTS
 Multi-detector CT remains the preferred first line imaging study for moderate and severe
traumatic brain injury as it can quickly identify patients who require urgent neurosurgical
intervention.
 MRI is significantly more sensitive than CT for detection of pathoanatomic lesions in
mild TBI.
 MRI is more sensitive than CT for many types of traumatic injuries and plays a
complementary role. It is most indicated in the acute setting for mild TBI when a patient's
symptoms and/or neurologic exam are not explained by CT findings.
 Emerging advanced neuroimaging techniques may improve the sensitivity for identifying
mild TBI as well as offer prognostic information for all grades of injury