Abstract
Objectives
Endolymphatic hydrops (EH) can be studied in patients by MRI. With the semi-quantitative grading system, previous imaging studies showed discrepancies in the occurrence and grading of EH in patients with Meniere’s disease (MD). Here, we compared the inversion of the saccule to utricle area ratio (SURI) with the semi-quantitative method of grading conventionally used to diagnose MD.
Methods
Imaging was carried out on a 3-T MRI scanner. We performed 3D-FLAIR sequences 4 h after a single intravenous dose of contrast agent. Two radiologists independently studied the morphology of the inner ear structures in the healthy subjects and MD patients. Each subject was then graded on the basis of the EH semi-quantitative analysis and on saccular morphology using axial and sagittal reference slices in the vestibule plane.
Results
Thirty healthy subjects and 30 MD patients had MRI scans. Using the semi-quantitative method, we found no significant difference in the number of subjects with EH between the two groups. SURI was found in 15 out of 30 MD patients and in none of the 30 healthy subjects. In three MD patients the saccule was not visible.
Conclusion
SURI is currently the most specific criterion for imaging diagnosis of MD.
Key points
• Half of MD patients presented with inversion of the saccule to utricle ratio.
• Saccular analysis is crucial when assessing patients with Meniere’s disease.
• In some patients, the saccule is not visible, suggestive of intra-labyrinthine fistulae.
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- AAO-HNS:
-
American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery
- CH:
-
Cochlear hydrops
- EH:
-
Endolymphatic hydrops
- FLAIR:
-
Fluid attenuated inversion recovery
- MD:
-
Meniere’s disease
- SNHL:
-
Sensorineural hearing loss
- SURI:
-
Saccule to utricle ratio inversion
- VH:
-
Vestibular hydrops
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Acknowledgments
The scientific guarantor of this publication is Arnaud Attye. The authors of this manuscript declare relationships with the following companies: This study has received funding by Guerbet SA® for MRI in healthy subjects and by the University Hospital of Grenoble for MRI in patients with Meniere’s disease.
One of the authors has significant statistical expertise (Dr Naïla Boudiaf, PhD, from the University of Grenoble). This was a single-centre, parallel-group imaging study that was registered with the ClinicalTrials.gov registry (38RC14.428 for healthy subjects/38RC15.173 for patients). It was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and international standards of Good Clinical Practice. The study was approved by our institutional review board (IRB 6705/15-CHUG-02). Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects in this study. This cohort has not been previously reported.
Methodology: prospective, case-control study, performed at one institution.
The authors acknowledge the valuable assistance of Hélène Fournié and Patrice Jousse for their work editing the MRI pictures and drawings. We also thank Dr Alison Foote (Grenoble Alps University Hospital) for critically editing the manuscript.
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Attyé, A., Eliezer, M., Boudiaf, N. et al. MRI of endolymphatic hydrops in patients with Meniere’s disease: a case-controlled study with a simplified classification based on saccular morphology. Eur Radiol 27, 3138–3146 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-016-4701-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-016-4701-z