Whole-body MR imaging in the diagnosis of polymyositis

OBJECTIVE. Our purpose was to evaluate the use of whole-body MR imaging in the assessment of the extent and distribution of muscle inflammation in patients with polymyositis. CONCLUSION. Whole-body turbo short tau inversion recovery imaging is a convenient complete method of evaluating patients with muscle inflammation caused by polymyositis. This imaging technique allows us to evaluate the total inflammatory burden by revealing multiple muscle groups not seen with standard protocols.