Abstract
BackgroundPrevious studies of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a diagnostic tool for central nervous system (CNS) syndromes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) contained several limitations such as study design, number of enrolled patients, and definition of CNS syndromes. We overcame these problems and statistically evaluated the diagnostic values of abnormal MRI signals and their chronological changes in CNS syndromes of SLE.MethodsWe prospectively studied 191 patients with SLE, comparing those with (n = 57) and without (n = 134) CNS syndrome. CNS syndromes were characterized using the American College of Rheumatology case definitions.ResultsAny abnormal MRI signals were more frequently observed in subjects in the CNS group (n = 25) than in the non-CNS group (n = 32) [relative risk (RR), 1.7; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.1-2.7; p = 0.016] and the positive and negative predictive values for the diagnosis of CNS syndrome were 42% and 76%, respectively. Large abnormal MRI signals (ø ≥ 10 mm) were seen only in the CNS group (n = 7; RR, 3.7; CI, 2.9-4.7; p = 0.0002), whereas small abnormal MRI signals (ø < 10 mm) were seen in both groups with no statistical difference. Large signals always paralleled clinical outcome (p = 0.029), whereas small signals did not (p = 1.000).ConclusionsAbnormal MRI signals, which showed statistical associations with CNS syndrome, had insufficient diagnostic values. A large MRI signal was, however, useful as a diagnostic and surrogate marker for CNS syndrome of SLE, although it was less common.
Highlights
Previous studies of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a diagnostic tool for central nervous system (CNS) syndromes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) contained several limitations such as study design, number of enrolled patients, and definition of CNS syndromes
In order to overcome these problems of the previous studies we prospectively enrolled the largest number of SLE patients with or without active CNS syndrome which was categorized based on the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) standardized case definitions and evaluated the accuracy and usefulness of conventional MRI in the diagnosis of CNS syndrome
First, from the largest prospective cohort of SLE patients with or without active CNS syndrome, we found that abnormal signals from conventional MRI alone did not have sufficient predictive value to be practical for diagnosis of active CNS lupus, they were associated with active CNS lupus
Summary
Previous studies of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a diagnostic tool for central nervous system (CNS) syndromes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) contained several limitations such as study design, number of enrolled patients, and definition of CNS syndromes. We overcame these problems and statistically evaluated the diagnostic values of abnormal MRI signals and their chronological changes in CNS syndromes of SLE. In order to overcome these problems of the previous studies we prospectively enrolled the largest number of SLE patients with or without active CNS syndrome which was categorized based on the ACR standardized case definitions and evaluated the accuracy and usefulness of conventional MRI in the diagnosis of CNS syndrome. We assessed the suitability of conventional MRI as a surrogate marker for CNS lupus
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