The Correlation of MRI Findings to Outcome in Diffuse Axonal Injury Patients

미만성 뇌축삭손상 환자의 자기공명영상 소견과 예후와의 상관관계

Object : We intended to investigate the relationship between the degree of injury on MRI and the outcome of the patients with diffuse axonal inury. Method : From january, 1995 to march, 1999, 22 patients were supposed to have diffuse axonal injuries by means of their neurologic signs and MRI. We investigated their prognosis according to CT, MRI and initial neurologic findings. Result : 1) The lesions were mainly located at white matter of cerebrum, corpus callosum, brainstem, and basal ganglia. 2) The lesions of white matter were most commonly in the frontal lobe and temporal lobe. 3) The majority of corpus callosal lesions were located in the posterior body and splenium, but anterior corpus callosal lesions combined with posterior lesions were not found. 4) Brainstem lesions, all non-hemorrhagic, were mostly located in the dorsolateral aspect, not be found on CT. 5) The brainstem lesions were found in 10 cases among total 22 cases, and corpus callosal lesions were accompanied with 8 cases of brainstem lesions. 6) The patients with brainstem lesions had worse prognosis. Conclusion : It is important and reasonable to take brain MRI to identify the brainstem lesions in any cases of suspicious diffuse axonal injury, and we should remind that the diffuse axonal injury with stem lesion has worse prognosis.