title: Value of Gd-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging of the labyrinth in patients with sudden hearing loss.
abstract: Recent reports describe labyrinthine enhancement on MRI as a highly specific sign of labyrinthine disease. This paper reports 44 patients with unilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and laboratory evidence of cochlear damage investigated with Gd-enhanced MR imaging. Enhancement of the cochlea was observed in only one patient with a lesion at the fundus of the internal auditory canal (IAC) that extended into the cochlea after Gd-DTPA administration. In one more patient, MR imaging demonstrated large vestibular aqueducts as underlying cause for his hearing loss, but no enhancement of the labyrinth was observed. No abnormal signal intensity on precontrast MR scans nor pathologic enhancement of the membranous labyrinth were identified in the other 42 patients. Gd-enhanced MR imaging appears to be insensitive in demonstrating labyrinthine disease and normal examination findings in a patient with sudden SNHL cannot exclude damage at the cochlear level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Medical School of Athens University, Greece.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vlahos
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xenelis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Papafragou
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Adamopoulos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003287:Contrast Media; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D003639:Hearing Loss, Sudden / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007759:Labyrinth Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D004369:Pentetic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014723:Vestibular Aqueduct / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D004369:Pentetic Acid; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA