Prevalence of incidentally discovered findings on brain MRI in adult Egyptian population

Dena Serag,Eman Ragab

doi:10.1186/s43055-020-00187-1

Dena Serag, Eman Ragab

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s43055-020-00187-1

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Abstract

BackgroundApparently, asymptomatic intracranial anomalies of potential clinical significance are becoming problematic, especially with the increase of use of brain MRI by clinicians and researchers. Performing MRI at higher resolution and stronger magnetic field and with more selective sequences has led to the detection of subtle brain anomalies that were not detected previously. Incidental findings are defined as previously undetected anomalies of potential clinical relevance that are unexpectedly detected and not related to the indication of the scan.Knowing about their existence would help clinicians to inform their patients of the potential risks and plan for long-term follow-up when indicated.ResultsSeven hundred fifty-three neurologically healthy subjects (389 males and 364 females) who underwent MRI scanning of the brain were screened for the presence of incidental findings, and the prevalence of each finding was recorded. Incidental findings were recorded in 11.7% of the subjects with meningiomas being the most commonly encountered finding (2.5%) followed by vascular malformations (aneurysms, cavernomas) in about 2% of the subjects. Meningiomas, cavernomas, and aneurysms had significantly higher prevalence in females than in males. The prevalence of neoplastic incidental findings increased with age, while the detection of non-neoplastic findings seemed to decrease with age.ConclusionIncidental findings were relatively common in the adult Egyptian population. The most common findings were meningiomas, followed by vascular malformations and arachnoids cysts. Knowing about their existence will help directing patients towards the proper specialist and plan for appropriate follow-up to avoid potential clinical hazards. It also raises the awareness of the importance of screening the brain scans while scanning the patient for other purposes like scanning the paranasal sinuses, orbits, and petrous temporal bones.

Highlights

Asymptomatic intracranial anomalies of potential clinical significance are becoming problematic, especially with the increase of use of brain Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by clinicians and researchers
The current study reports on the prevalence of incidental findings of potential clinical significance on brain MRI in the adult Egyptian population detected by high-resolution brain MRI in 753 neurologically healthy subjects
Incidental brain findings of potential clinical relevance were reported in 88 patients (11.7%) with 96 recorded anomalies

Summary

Introduction

Asymptomatic intracranial anomalies of potential clinical significance are becoming problematic, especially with the increase of use of brain MRI by clinicians and researchers. Incidental findings are defined as previously undetected anomalies of potential clinical relevance that are unexpectedly detected and not related to the indication of the scan Knowing about their existence would help clinicians to inform their patients of the potential risks and plan for long-term follow-up when indicated. Subclinical white matter ischemic changes such as white matter hyper-intensities and asymptomatic brain infarcts are not generally classified as incidental findings, the prevalence of which are known to be high in elderly age groups and increases with age [9–11]. They are usually considered to be a part of the normal aging process of the brain [11]; they were not included in our study

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