Differential MRI diagnosis between brain abscesses.pdf

ic Resonance Imaging 21 (2003) 645–650
Differential MRI diagnosis between brain abscesses and necrotic or
cystic brain tumors using the apparent diffusion coefficient and
normalized diffusion-weighted images
Lydie Nadal Desbaratsa, Sandra Herlidoua, Giovanni de Marcoa, Catherine Gondry-Jouetb,
Daniel Le Garsc, Herve´ Deramondb, Ilana Idy-Perettia,d,*
aBiophysique et Traitement de l’Image Me´dicale, UMR RS, Universite´ Picardie Jules Verne, CHU Amiens, France
bLaboratoire de Radiologie, CHU Amiens, France
cLaboratoire de Neurochirurgie, CHU Amiens, France
dLaboratoire de Biophysique et Me´decine Nucle´aire, Hoˆpital Lariboisie`re, APHP, Paris, France
Received 18 July 2001; accepted 4 December 2002
Abstract
ic Resonance Diffusion-Weighted Imaging (DWI) has been reported to be helpful for the differential diagnosis between abscesses
and cystic/necrotic brain tumors. However the number of patients is still limited, and the sensitivity and specificity of the method remain
to be confirmed. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate a larger sample of patients, all investigated under the same
experimental conditions, in order to obtain statistically significant data. Moreover, there is no consensus about the appropriate values of b
required to use to make an accurate diagnosis from DWI. The secondary purpose of this study was to determine the discrimin