Utility of cine MR urography of the urinary tract and comparison with static MR urography.
OBJECTIVE
MR urography using heavily T2-weighted images can depict the urinary tract without the need for contrast medium. However, this technique has potential problems with regard to evaluating the non-dilated ureter. We compared the efficacy of cine MR urography (C-MRU) with static MR urography (S-MRU).


METHODS
Twenty-two patients with suspected upper urinary tract disease underwent C-MRU. The final clinical diagnosis was compared with the diagnosis made using S-MRU and C-MRU, respectively. The sequence used was single-shot fast spin echo with a slice thickness of 50 mm, FOV of 45 cm, and 256x256 matrix. MR urography was obtained sequentially by 6 to 10 repetitions of single-shot scans with intermittent breath holding. S-MRU was used in the initial phase of this sequence, while C-MRU was used for the entire sequence. A final diagnosis was made based on 1) existence of stenosis, 2) rate of certainty of existence of stenosis, 3) etiology of stenosis.


RESULTS
No statistically significant difference was observed between S-MRU and C-MRU, except in certainty of existence of stenosis, where C-MRU (average rate: 2.82 +/- 0.39) was significantly superior to S-MRU (2.41 +/- 0.73).


CONCLUSIONS
C-MRU can improve the certainty of existence of urinary stenosis, and may be useful in excluding suspected stenoses in normal or undilated ureters.
Tsubota
Masako
M
Department of Radiology, Kyorin University School of Medicine, 6-20-2 Shinkawa, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo 181-8611, JAPAN.
Takahara
Taro
T
Nitatori
Toshiaki
T
Hachiya
Junichi
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D019028:Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014513:Ureter / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D014514:Ureteral Calculi / Q000175:diagnosis; D014515:Ureteral Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D014516:Ureteral Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis