Evaluation of lung damage in pneumonia, from chest magnetic resonance imaging, in primary diagnosis and in the follow-up of treatment

Purpose of the study. To evaluate the practical significance of MRI in the primary diagnosis of inflammatory lung diseases, as well as in follow-up control of treatment, also in comparison with the results of CT of the chest.

Material and Methods. In 25 patients with acute pneumonia, six of them with acute myocardial infarction developed as complication of it, the MRI of the chest organs was performed in T1 - and T2-weighted (-w.) modes, also with fat signal suppression, with slice thickness of 2.5 to 5 mm, in a matrix of 256 × 256 or 256 ×392 pixels, with a scanning field of view as large as 40 x 40 cm. In T1-w. mode TR = 390–650 ms, TE = 10–15 ms. When T2-w. scanning, respectively, TR = 2900 -4000 ms, TE = 20–25 ms. Paramagnetic contrast enhancement was also carried out in 16 of 24 patients, at a dosage of 0.1 mmol/kg of body weight. Post-contrast images were acquired 12-17 minutes after the introduction of paramagnetic agent. In 17 out of 25 of our patients, chest CT was also performed.

Results. The minimal cross-dimension of focal inflammatory lesions for community-acquired pneumonia, imaged with MRI chest scanning was as little as 9 х 21 mm. The dimensions of lung lesion obtained from the MRI scanning did correlate significantly with results of the CT (r = 0.96, p < 0.001). Also MRI of the lung did prove the successful cure of pneumonia. Also in six cases the MRI verified the acute myocardial infarction occurred as complication of severe pneumonia. Based on the results of MRI of the lungs and chest, the treatment strategy was supplemented in 16 cases and significantly changed in 9 cases.

Conclusion. MRI of the lungs employing the T1- and T2-weighted protocols with fat suppression, diffusionweighted imaging and use of contrast enhancement delivers highly efficient technique of imaging of nodal, segment and lobe inflammation. MRI of the chest should be reasonably employed for diagnosis and follow-up of treatment in hospitals and diagnostic units possessing high- and middle-field MRI scanners able toacquire the images in breath-synchronised mode.

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