Quantitative Assessment of Late Gadolinium Enhancement and Edema at Cardiac Magnetic Resonance in Low-Risk Myocarditis Patients

In this study, we aimed to quantify LGE and edema at short-tau inversion recovery sequences on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in patients with myocarditis. We retrospectively evaluated CMR examinations performed during the acute phase and at follow-up. Forty-seven patients were eligible for retros...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Caterina Beatrice Monti, Francesco Secchi, Marco Alì, Francesco Saverio Carbone, Luca Bonomo, Davide Capra, Nazanin Mobini, Giovanni Di Leo, Francesco Sardanelli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-04-01
Series:Tomography
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2379-139X/8/2/78
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Summary:In this study, we aimed to quantify LGE and edema at short-tau inversion recovery sequences on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in patients with myocarditis. We retrospectively evaluated CMR examinations performed during the acute phase and at follow-up. Forty-seven patients were eligible for retrospective LGE assessment, and, among them, twenty-five patients were eligible for edema evaluation. Both groups were paired with age- and sex-matched controls. The median left ventricle LGE was 6.4% (interquartile range 5.0–9.2%) at the acute phase, 4.4% (3.3–7.2%) at follow-up, and 4.3% (3.0–5.3%) in controls, the acute phase being higher than both follow-up and controls (<i>p <</i> 0.001 for both), while follow-up and controls did not differ (<i>p =</i> 0.139). An optimal threshold of 5.0% was obtained for LGE with 87% sensitivity and 48% specificity; the positive likelihood ratio (LR) was 1.67, and the negative LR was 0.27. Edema was 12.8% (9.4–18.1%) at the acute phase, 7.3% (5.5–8.8%) at follow-up, and 6.7% (5.6–8.6%) in controls, the acute phase being higher than both follow-up and controls (both <i>p <</i> 0.001), while follow-up and controls did not differ (<i>p =</i> 0.900). An optimal threshold of 9.5% was obtained for edema with a sensitivity of 76% and a specificity of 88%; the positive LR was 6.33, and the negative LR was 0.27. LGE and edema thresholds are useful in cases of suspected mild myocarditis.
ISSN:2379-1381
2379-139X