Imaging features of bilateral vestibular neuritis

Abstract

Introduction. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was found to be insensitive diagnostic modality in detecting the abnormalities in patients with vestibular neuritis. Case report. A 32-year-old man was admitted to hospital with clinical signs of acute vestibular neuritis. The conventional MRI was inconclusive, including 3 mm slice-thickness postcontrast study, while the postcontrast high resolution study with 1 mm slice-thikness, detected bilateral enhancement of the vestibulocochlear nerve’s vestibular branch, consistent with inflammation. Conclusion. High-resolution 1 mm or submilimeter slices should be perfomed to evaluate patients with vestibular neuritis in order to increase the MRI sensitivity and improve correlation with clinical findings.

Keywords

• vestibulocochlear nerve diseases
• neuritis
• bilateral vestibulopathy
• diagnosis
• magnetic resonance imaging