Diagnostic value of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in pelvic abscesses.

Objective: The objective of this study was to prospectively assess the added value of gadolinium-enhanced and diffusion-weighted (DWI) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to pelvic T2-weighted MRI for diagnosis of deep pelvic abscesses.

Methods: Twenty-nine patients with suspected abscess and a control group of 43 patients underwent T2-weighted, gadolinium-enhanced, T1-weighted and DWI magnetic resonance sequences. Three readers (R1, R2, R3) scored likelihood of abscess on standard MRI, standard MRI + gadolinium, and standard MRI + DWI.