The contemporary role of MRI in the monitoring and management of people with multiple sclerosis in the UK

Fernandes, Linford, Allen, Christopher Martin, Williams, Thomas, Tallantyre, Emma ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3760-6634, Evangelou, Nikos, Chataway, Jeremy and Ford, Helen L. 2021. The contemporary role of MRI in the monitoring and management of people with multiple sclerosis in the UK. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders 55 , 103190. 10.1016/j.msard.2021.103190

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Abstract

Background Compare the contemporary use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the monitoring and management of people with MS in the UK to current consensus guidelines. Methods This retrospective multicentre audit of clinical practice gathered data on 2567 patients with MS from 25 MS centres across the UK. Results Routine monitoring (44.7%), and recent clinical relapse (20.3%) were the most common scan indications. In routine monitoring, the addition of spinal imaging to brain showed no significant difference in disease modifying treatment (DMT) decision at subsequent clinical review. Approximately 1 in 5 gadolinium administered scans showed enhancement, and in 1 in 20 patients, gadolinium enhancement was the only evidence of radiological disease activity. Mean inter-scan intervals in relapsing-remitting MS for routine monitoring was 19.2 months (SD 20.7) with wide variation between centres. Only 53.8% of patients under progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) surveillance met the recommended scanning frequency. MRI protocols demonstrated heterogeneity in the sequences used for diagnostic, monitoring and PML surveillance scans. Conclusions MS centres across the UK demonstrate varied practice and protocols when using MRI to monitor people with MS. In this cohort, gadolinium use and spinal imaging demonstrates limited impact on subsequent DMT decisions.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (CNGG)
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	2211-0348
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	25 August 2021
Date of Acceptance:	1 August 2021
Last Modified:	24 Nov 2024 14:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/143665

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