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PURPOSE: To determine whether a 10-minute magnetic resonance (MR) imaging examination of the uppe... more PURPOSE: To determine whether a 10-minute magnetic resonance (MR) imaging examination of the upper abdomen provides sufficiently comprehensive information to replace a longer MR protocol. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Images obtained with selected breathing-independent and breath-hold MR sequences, with 2 minutes of total acquisition time and an estimated 10 minutes of total study time, in consecutive MR examinations of the upper abdomen in 72 patients (age range, 23–87 years) were retrospectively reviewed in a blinded fashion by two separate interpreters. Determination was made of major and minor findings, and the two separate retrospective interpretations and the prospective clinical interpretation were correlated by using statistics. Surgical and clinical findings were also correlated with imaging findings. RESULTS: In 61 patients, all major and minor findings were identical in the original clinical interpretation and the two retrospective readings. In 66 patients, the major findings were identical in these three readings. Close agreement was present between the two separate retrospective readings and the prospective clinical interpretation (0.49–1.00). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the diagnostic information provided by a shortened MR imaging protocol that includes breath-hold and breathing-independent sequences is in close agreement with lengthier MR protocols. The advantages of a shortened protocol include increased patient throughput and decreased study cost. Advances in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging techniques to improve MR imaging of the abdomen have included the development of breath-hold imaging sequences and the frequent intravenous administration of contrast agents (1–3). Using these advances has shown that MR imaging may demonstrate a full range of upper abdominal diseases (4–7). The advantage of the variety of MR sequences available is that comprehensive examination of disease processes is feasible (8). The disadvantages of a variety of sequences are that general agreement on MR imaging strategies is difficult to achieve and that there is a tendency to add new sequences to a protocol rather than replace older sequences, which serves to decrease patient throughput, increase study cost, and increase the likelihood of patient motion. There are clear advantages to replacing longer breathing-averaged sequences with shorter breath-hold or breathing-independent sequences. The term ''breathing indepen-dent'' reflects that sequences are less than 2 seconds in duration, are minimally sensitive to artifacts from patient breathing and motion, and therefore do not require that patients breathe in a regular fashion or suspend respiration. The intention of this study was to determine whether selected breath-hold and breathing-independent sequences provide as much diagnostic information as breathing-averaged sequences in a long MR examination.
PURPOSE: To determine whether a 10-minute magnetic resonance (MR) imaging examination of the uppe... more PURPOSE: To determine whether a 10-minute magnetic resonance (MR) imaging examination of the upper abdomen provides sufficiently comprehensive information to replace a longer MR protocol. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Images obtained with selected breathing-independent and breath-hold MR sequences, with 2 minutes of total acquisition time and an estimated 10 minutes of total study time, in consecutive MR examinations of the upper abdomen in 72 patients (age range, 23–87 years) were retrospectively reviewed in a blinded fashion by two separate interpreters. Determination was made of major and minor findings, and the two separate retrospective interpretations and the prospective clinical interpretation were correlated by using statistics. Surgical and clinical findings were also correlated with imaging findings. RESULTS: In 61 patients, all major and minor findings were identical in the original clinical interpretation and the two retrospective readings. In 66 patients, the major findings were identical in these three readings. Close agreement was present between the two separate retrospective readings and the prospective clinical interpretation (0.49–1.00). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the diagnostic information provided by a shortened MR imaging protocol that includes breath-hold and breathing-independent sequences is in close agreement with lengthier MR protocols. The advantages of a shortened protocol include increased patient throughput and decreased study cost. Advances in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging techniques to improve MR imaging of the abdomen have included the development of breath-hold imaging sequences and the frequent intravenous administration of contrast agents (1–3). Using these advances has shown that MR imaging may demonstrate a full range of upper abdominal diseases (4–7). The advantage of the variety of MR sequences available is that comprehensive examination of disease processes is feasible (8). The disadvantages of a variety of sequences are that general agreement on MR imaging strategies is difficult to achieve and that there is a tendency to add new sequences to a protocol rather than replace older sequences, which serves to decrease patient throughput, increase study cost, and increase the likelihood of patient motion. There are clear advantages to replacing longer breathing-averaged sequences with shorter breath-hold or breathing-independent sequences. The term ''breathing indepen-dent'' reflects that sequences are less than 2 seconds in duration, are minimally sensitive to artifacts from patient breathing and motion, and therefore do not require that patients breathe in a regular fashion or suspend respiration. The intention of this study was to determine whether selected breath-hold and breathing-independent sequences provide as much diagnostic information as breathing-averaged sequences in a long MR examination.