More articles from Brain
- Diagnostic Evaluation in Patients with Intractable Epilepsy and Normal Findings on MRI: A Decision Analysis and Cost-Effectiveness Study
Here is an investigation designed to determine cost-effectiveness of diagnostic tests on patients with focal epilepsy and normal MRI. Studies compared were PET, ictal SPECT, and MEG, individually and in various combinations. PET + MEG and SPECT were the preferred imaging modalities and PET + MEG was favored when the willingness to pay was less than US $10,000, while SPECT was favored when the willingness to pay was above $10,000.
- Diagnostic Accuracy of PET for Recurrent Glioma Diagnosis: A Meta-Analysis
These authors compared the diagnostic accuracy of PET with that of CT and MRI in the diagnosis of recurrent glioma in 26 previously published articles. PET studies with either FDG or carbon methionine were obtained once glioma recurrence was suspected on CT and/or MRI. Diagnostic accuracies were heterogeneous and studies did not compare PET with other imaging modalities. Despite these limitations, PET with both tracers appears to have a moderately good accuracy as an add-on test for diagnosing recurrent glioma.
- Traumatic Intracranial Hematomas: Prognostic Value of Contrast Extravasation
Contrast extravasation in hematomas predicts their growth and thus these authors assessed the prognostic value of this sign. Sixty patients with cerebral hematomas received CTA and/or perfusion CT within 24 hours of admission and then a follow-up CT at 72 hours. Fifty percent of patients showed contrast extravasation and this finding predicted poor in-hospital outcome. Recognition of contrast extravasation achieved a near perfect interobserver agreement.