Subarachnoid hemorrhage MRI

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Syed Ahsan Hussain, M.D.[2] Cafer Zorkun, M.D., Ph.D. [3]; Sara Mehrsefat, M.D. [4]

Overview[edit | edit source]

MRI may indicated in all patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage if no lesion were found on prior angiography. MRI may be helpful in diagnosis of occult vascular lesions that can cause subarachnoid hemorrhage and may include brain and spinal cord vascular malformations, tumors, and arterial dissection.

MRI[edit | edit source]

• The findings and indications of sub-arachnoid hemorrhage on MRI are given below:^{[1][2][3][2][4]}

MRI may indicated in all patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage if no lesion were found on prior angiography.

• Brain and spinal cord vascular malformations
• Tumors
  • Pituitary adenoma
• Arterial dissection (arterial wall hematoma)

Disadvantage of performing MRI in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage may include:

• Higher cost
• Lower availability
• Longer study time make it less optimal for detecting SAH. In addition
• Not being sensitive for detection of subarachnoid hemorrhage within the first 48 hours

T2- and T2*-weighted images can potentially demonstrate SAH as low signal intensity in normally high-signal subarachnoid spaces. On T1-weighted images, acute SAH may appear as intermediate- or high-intensity signal in the subarachnoid space

References[edit | edit source]

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