Diagnostic value of different MRI sequences in primary trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm

Objective To explore the diagnostic value of 3D time of flight (3D-TOF) and 3D fast imaging employing steady-state acquisition (3D-FIESTA) sequence two dimensional images and three-dimensional fusion images after single-mode registration and postreconstruction during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of trigeminal nerve for the diagnosis of primary trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm. Methods The two-dimensional and three-dimensional images of 73 patients (48 cases of primary trigeminal neuralgia and 25 cases of hemifacial spasm) who were examined by magnetic resonance tomographic angiography (MRTA) were analyzed retrospectively. The relationship of location between the trigeminal nerve and the adjacent blood vessels and the facial nerve and the adjacent blood vessels was diagnosed respectively. Using the operation result as the gold standard, the sensitivity of the two groups of images to the diagnosis of the relationship between the symptomatic nerves and their blood vessels was calculated. Results In 48 patients with primary trigeminal neuralgia, the diagnostic sensitivity of three-dimensional images was higher than that of two-dimensional images (93.8% vs.87.5%, P<0.05). In 25 patients with hemifacial spasm, the sensitivity of three-dimensional images was higher than that of two-dimensional images (92.0% vs.84.0%, P<0.05). Conclusions Compared with two-dimensional images of 3D-TOF and 3D-FIESTA, three-dimensional fusion images of 3D-TOF and 3D-FIESTA can clearly show the relationship of location between nerve and blood vessel, which has higher diagnostic value for primary trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm.