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Prevalence and MRI findings of incidentally detected pituitary non-enhancing lesion on brain MRI in children

  • Hae Won Yoo , Jeong Rye Kim ORCID logo EMAIL logo and Jee Suk Yu
Published/Copyright: April 5, 2021

Abstract

Objectives

To determine the prevalence and MRI findings of incidentally detected pituitary nonenhancing lesion on brain MRI in children, and to compare the detection rates of pituitary nonenhancing lesion according to magnetic field strength and acquisition technique.

Methods

Pediatric patients (≤18 years old) who underwent brain MRI with contrast-enhancement between January 2018 and September 2019 were retrospectively included (n=365). The presence, size, and signal intensity of pituitary nonenhancing lesions were assessed by two radiologists. The prevalence of pituitary nonenhancing lesions was compared between different magnetic field strengths and MRI acquisition techniques.

Results

Pituitary nonenhancing lesions were identified in 76 patients (20.8%). The anteroposterior diameter of pituitary nonenhancing lesion was the smallest diameter in most patients (93.4%; mean diameter ± SD of 2.4 ± 1.5 mm; range: 0.9–9.0 mm). Sixty-seven percent of the pituitary nonenhancing lesions were hypointense on T1-weighted imaging, 44.1% were hyperintense on T2-weighted imaging, and 12.9% showed low signal intensity on susceptibility-weighted imaging. There was no diffusion restriction in any of the nonenhancing lesions. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of pituitary nonenhancing lesions according to magnetic field strength, age, gender, slice thickness, or 2D vs. 3D contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging sequence.

Conclusions

Pituitary nonenhancing lesions were identified on contrast-enhanced brain MRI in 20.8% of pediatric patients, with no significant difference in the prevalence according to magnetic field strength, slice thickness, and 2D or 3D contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging.


Correction note

Correction added after online publication 19 April 2021: The order of first two authors has been changed.



Corresponding author: Jeong Rye Kim, MD, PhD, Department of Radiology, Dankook University Hospital, Dankook University College of Medicine, 201, Manghyang-ro, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea, Phone: +82 41 550 6921, E-mail:

  1. Research funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

  2. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  3. Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.

  4. Ethical statement: This research has obtained a DKUH IRB-approved waiver of informed consent because this research involves no greater than minimal risk to participants, and the waiver will not adversely affect the rights and welfare of the participants. We certify that DKUH IRB is in full compliance with Good Clinical Practice as defined under the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) regulations and the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines.

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Supplementary Material

The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/jpem-2020-0518).


Received: 2020-09-07
Accepted: 2021-02-02
Published Online: 2021-04-05
Published in Print: 2021-05-26

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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