Evaluation of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings and Clinical Features in Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension Patients

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic contributions of various neuroradiological imaging findings in the patient group diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) and the clinical findings in this patient group. Methods: In this retrospectively designed study, magnetic resonance imaging-magnetic resonance venography and neuroophthalmological examination findings of 41 patients who met the inclusion criteria and 49 controls were evaluated comparatively and their contribution to the diagnosis and sensitivity-specificity levels in predicting the disease were determined. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between IIH patient group and control group in the findings of prominence in Meckel's cave, narrowing of the subarachnoid spaces, inferior displacement of the cerebellar tonsils, among the 10 brain neuroimaging findings evaluated. The other 7 findings were statistically significantly different between the two groups. The finding with the highest sensitivity was transverse venous sinus stenosis (73%), while the findings with the highest specificity were intraocular protrusion of the optic nerve (100%) and narrowing of the subarachnoid spaces (100%). Conclusion: Although the absence of neuroimaging findings does not exclude the diagnosis of IIH, the findings play a very important role in the diagnosis of the disease and in excluding other possible causes. In patients who apply to the clinic with non-specific headache, attention should be paid to the subtle findings observed in magnetic resonance imaging and an appropriate imaging protocol should be applied to the patients.

Keywords

• idiopathic intracranial hypertension
• magnetic resonance imaging
• magnetic resonance angiography
• papilledema