CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID FISTULA - DETECTION WITH MR CISTERNOGRAPHY

PURPOSE: Our goal was to assess the role of MR cisternography in the e xamination of patients with suspected CSF rhinorrhea. METHODS: MR cist ernography was performed as a heavily T2-weighted fast spin-echo study with fat suppression and video reversal of the images in 37 patients over a 3-year interval. Twenty-four of the patients subsequently had e xploratory surgery for fistula, Statistical analysis of the surgical r esults was compared with the findings at MR cisternography. RESULTS: M R cisternography showed significant correlation with surgical findings , with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 0.87, 0.57, and 0.78, respectively. CONCLUSION: MR cisternography proved to be an accurate diagnostic imaging technique in the evaluation of suspected CSF rhinor rhea.