Journal
CHILDREN-BASEL
Volume 10, Issue 2, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/children10020206
Keywords
white matter abnormalities; myelination; pediatric imaging; etiology; magnetic resonance imaging
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study retrospectively characterized WMSAs in an unselected patient cohort at a large pediatric neuroimaging facility, aiming to learn more about the underlying disorders encountered in everyday clinical practice. The majority of WMSAs were acquired and were non-specific in brain MRI, followed by autoimmune disorders and non-genetic hypoxic and ischemic insults.
(1) Background and Purpose: The aim of this study was to retrospectively characterize WMSAs in an unselected patient cohort at a large pediatric neuroimaging facility, in order to learn more about the spectrum of the underlying disorders encountered in everyday clinical practice. (2) Materials and Methods: Radiology reports of 5166 consecutive patients with standard brain MRI (2006-2018) were searched for predefined keywords describing WMSAs. A neuroradiology specialist enrolled patients with WMSAs following a structured approach. Imaging characteristics, etiology (autoimmune disorders, non-genetic hypoxic and ischemic insults, traumatic white matter injuries, no final diagnosis due to insufficient clinical information, non-specific WMSAs, infectious white matter damage, leukodystrophies, toxic white matter injuries, inborn errors of metabolism, and white matter damage caused by tumor infiltration/cancer-like disease), and age/gender distribution were evaluated. (3) Results: Overall, WMSAs were found in 3.4% of pediatric patients scanned at our and referring hospitals within the ten-year study period. The majority were found in the supratentorial region only (87%) and were non-enhancing (78% of CE-MRI). WMSAs caused by autoimmune disorders formed the largest group (23%), followed by non-specific WMSAs (18%), as well as non-genetic hypoxic and ischemic insults (17%). The majority were therefore acquired as opposed to inherited. Etiology-based classification of WMSAs was affected by age but not by gender. In 17% of the study population, a definite diagnosis could not be established due to insufficient clinical information (mostly external radiology consults). (4) Conclusions: An integrated diagnosis that combines baseline demographics, including patient age as an important factor, clinical characteristics, and additional diagnostic workup with imaging patterns can be made in the majority of cases.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available