Whole-Body Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Healthy Volunteers: Pilot Study Results from the Population-Based SHIP Study

Zusammenfassung

Ziel: Pilotstudienergebnisse einer Ganzkörper-MRT-Untersuchung im Rahmen der prospektiven Bevölkerungsstudie „Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP)”. Material und Methoden: 200 gesunde Probanden (99 Frauen, 101 Männer, mittleres Alter 48,3 Jahre) unterzogen sich einer standardisierten Ganzkörper-MRT-Untersuchung. Bei 61 Männern (60,4 %) wurden zusätzlich eine kontrastmittelgestützte Herz-MRT und MR-Angiografie und bei 44 Frauen (44,4 %) eine kontrastmittelgestützte Herz-MRT und MR-Mammografie durchgeführt. Die MRT-Daten wurden unabhängig von 2 Radiologen mittels eines standardisierten Befundbogens ausgewertet. Pathologische Befunde wurden anhand der Notwendigkeit einer weiteren klinischen Abklärung klassifiziert und in einem Advisory Board vorgestellt und diskutiert. Ergebnisse: Bei 176 (88 %) Probanden wurden insgesamt 431 pathologische Befunde detektiert, von denen 386 (89,6 %) gutartige Veränderungen darstellten und keine weitere klinische Abklärung nach sich zogen. 45 (10,4 %) Pathologien bedurften einer weiteren klinischen Abklärung. Die Interrater-Reliabilität war hinsichtlich der Detektion pathologischer Befunde sehr gut (κ = 0,799). Schlussfolgerung: Diese Ergebnisse zeigen, dass eine Ganzkörper-MRT-Untersuchung im Rahmen einer großen, prospektiven epidemiologischen Studie realisierbar ist und dass die Ergebnisse der standardisierten MR-Analyse reproduzierbar sind. Eine Vielzahl pathologischer Befunde bietet wertvolle Informationen über die Prävalenz von Erkrankungen in einer breiten Bevölkerungsgruppe.

Abstract

Purpose: Approximately 4000 volunteers will undergo whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) within the next 3 years in the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP). Here we present a pilot study conducted (a) to determine the feasibility of adding a WB-MRI protocol to a large-scale population-based study, (b) to evaluate the reliability of standardized MRI interpretation, and (c) to establish an approach for handling pathological findings. Materials and Methods: The institutional review board approved the study, and oral and written informed consent was obtained from each participant. Two hundred healthy volunteers (99 women, 101 men; mean age 48.3 years) underwent a standardized WB-MRI protocol. The protocol was supplemented by contrast-enhanced cardiac MRI and magnetic resonance (MR) angiography in 61 men (60.4 %) and cardiac MRI and MR mammography in 44 women (44.4 %). MR scans were evaluated independently by two readers. Abnormalities were discussed by an advisory board and classified according to the need for further clinical work-up. Results: One hundred ninety-four (97.0 %) WB-MRI examinations were successfully completed in a mean scan time per subject of 90 minutes. There were 431 pathological findings in 176 (88 %) of the participants. Of those 45 (10.4 %) required further clinical work-up and 386 (89.6 %) characterized as benign lesions did not. The interobserver agreement for the detection of pathological findings was excellent (κ = 0.799). Conclusion: The preliminary results presented here indicate that a large prospective, population-based study using WB-MRI is feasible and that the results of image analysis are reproducible. A variety of positive findings provide valuable information regarding disease prevalence in a general adult population.

Key words

MR imaging - epidemiology - technology assessment

References

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