Clinical features and imaging characteristics of Meniere's disease verified by intravenous gadolinium contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the clinical features and imaging characteristics of Meniere's disease (MD)verified by intravenous gadolinium contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging(MRI). Methods: A total of 174 patients with Meniere's disease were involved in this study between March 2016 and October 2017. All of them underwent 3D-fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) MRI and presented endolymphatic hydrops and clinical characteristics of suspected Meniere's disease. The clinical characteristics, the grades of endolymphatic hydrops (EH) using Nakashima grading standard were analyzed, and the correlation between grade and clinical features was evaluated. Results: There were totally 174 patients (88 males, 86 females), with the age of 7-83 years [mean age of (51.0±15.0)] years. Age of onset and disease course was 7-83 years [mean age of (44.6±16.6) years], 36.0 (12.0, 111.0) months (from 2 days to 70 years), respectively. EH was found in all the patients, and 169 cases (97.1%) manifested as modest or severe hydrops. Among the 174 patients, 139 cases (79.9%) presented unilateral EH, and 35 cases (20.1%) presented bilateral EH. The degree of EH in the latter was more serious than the former. For 174 patients, clinical characteristics were inconsistent, which was not in accord with the existing diagnostic criteria. Furthermore, there was a correlation between degree of hydrops and degree of hearing loss (P<0.05). Conclusions: EH in Meniere's disease can be measured objectively by intravenous gadolinium contrast-enhanced MRI. Clinical characteristics in MD verified by EH are not accordant with the existing criteria, which means the significance of EH in diagnosis of MD. Moreover, there's a correlation between degree and distribution of hydrops and degree of hearing loss.