Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 1994 Feb;15(2):351-6.

Blinded comparison of cranial CT and MR in closed head injury evaluation

W W Orrison  1 , L R Gentry, G K Stimac, R M Tarrel, M C Espinosa, L C Cobb
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Blinded comparison of cranial CT and MR in closed head injury evaluation

W W Orrison et al. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 1994 Feb.

Abstract

Purpose: To compare CT and MR in the evaluation of acute head injury.

Methods: One hundred seven consecutive patients who were referred to the emergency department and underwent both MR and CT cranial examinations within 48 hours were retrospectively reviewed. The films were interpreted by two neuroradiologists blinded to all patient information.

Results: The sensitivity of MR was significantly higher than that of CT for the detection of contusion, shearing injury, subdural and epidural hematoma, and sinus involvement. The sensitivity of CT was significantly higher than that of MR for the evaluation of fracture. The sensitivities of MR and CT were statistically equivalent for the detection of superficial soft-tissue injury. The overall sensitivity of MR for the detection of abnormalities in acute head trauma was 96.4%, and for CT was 63.4%.

Conclusions: CT and MR are complementary studies in the evaluation of acute head trauma. MR is necessary to define or exclude contusions, deep shearing injury, and extraaxial fluid collections in acute head trauma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types