title: Acute neuromedical and neurosurgical admissions. Standard and ultrafast MR imaging of the brain compared with cranial CT.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the role of standard and ultrafast MR brain imaging and compare the information with CT.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospective study of 114 patients with acute neurological symptoms and signs. CT brain examinations consisted of axial non-enhanced images. MR imaging consisted of standard spin-echo/fast spin-echo sequences and a series of rapid techniques including echoplanar and single shot fast spin-echo sequences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using standard MR methods, 41% of the patients had all five sequences of good technical quality, while using ultrafast methods 81% of the patients had good technical quality examinations in all five sequences. In 3% of the cases, ischaemic stroke was incorrectly reported on CT. In 24% of the cases, MR gave extra diagnostic information not reported on CT and in a further 8%, one neuroradiologist reported the abnormality in agreement with the MR, whilst the other neuroradiologist reported the CT as normal. In 2 cases, subarachnoid haemorrhage was missed on MR. Subarachnoid haemorrhage was not shown on the ultrafast sequences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MR can be used to image acute neurological admissions with a high success rate, particularly using ultrafast methods. In many cases, MR provided extra information of direct clinical relevance not shown on CT.
authors.affiliation: Section of Academic Radiology, University of Sheffield, and Hallamshire Hospital, UK.
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: I D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Romanowski
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Hodgson
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Paley
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010343:Patient Admission; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed