Abstract
Head injury is a pressing public health concern the world over. Head injury and associated traumatic brain injury (TBI) usually result in neurocognitive impairments and psychological health issues especially when underlying chronic sequalae are not promptly diagnosed and managed. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been found to be the most sensitive imaging modality for the evaluation of lesions secondary to head injury. This study examined the spectrum of MRI findings in head injury cases in a population within South western Nigeria. A prospective study of MRI findings in 163 patients who presented to the radiology department of a foremost teaching hospital in South-western Nigeria with clinical history of head injury was undertaken for a period of 2 years (from January 2015 to December 2016). The following data were obtained and studied: demographic data, clinical history and MRI findings. The MR images were obtained with a 1.5Tesla Siemens MR Scanner. Both T1-weighted and T2-weighted MR imaging protocols were performed for all the patients. The MR images were acquired by the radiographers and interpreted by consultant radiologists. 121 (74.23%) of the subjects were males while 42 (26.76%) were females. Road traffic accident (RTA) (n = 87, 53.37%) was the major cause of head injury sustenance in more than half of the entire cases evaluated. The most common MRI findings are subdural haematoma (n = 41, 25.14%); cerebral contusion (n = 27, 16.56%); subarachnoid haemorrhage (n = 19, 11.65%); cerebral infarction (n = 12, 7.36%); skull fracture (n = 11, 6.74%); cerebral atrophy (n = 10, 6.13%) and multiple sclerosis (n = 7, 4.30%). The least common findings are leucoencephalopathy (n = 5, 3.06%) and retained bullet (n = 5, 3.06%). Magnetic resonance imaging is a paramount imaging modality in the diagnosis of lesions secondary to head injury. Thus the need to make MRI facilities more available in healthcare settings of developing countries, like Nigeria, is re-emphasised.
Highlights
Head injury is a common incidence in both urban and rural settings; secondary to multiple causes [1]
A total of 163 brain Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) cases were studied (Table 1). 121 (74.23%) were males while 42 (26.76%) were females
This finding agrees with Nzegwu11 who stated that Road traffic accident (RTA) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in individuals aged 50 years and below in Nigeria
Summary
Head injury is a common incidence in both urban and rural settings; secondary to multiple causes [1]. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), on the other hand, is usually reserved for showing lesions that could explain clinical symptoms and signs that are not explained by prior CT, to help better define abnormalities not well seen on CT, and/or to rule out important chronic sequel [5,6,7,8]. Performing MRI at higher resolution, field strength and with more sensitive sequences leads to the detection of subtle or small brain abnormalities that would not Chukwuani Anselm Ejike et al.: Spectrum of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings in Patients with. In spite of all benefits of MRI of brain imaging, no studies have been done to investigate the common findings of brain MRI in head injury in an African population.
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