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.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2021.103190DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

routine monitoring
12
mri monitoring
8
monitoring management
8
management people
8
spinal imaging
8
pml surveillance
8
monitoring
6
contemporary role
4
mri
4
role mri
4

Similar Publications

Development and routine implementation of deep learning algorithm for automatic brain metastases segmentation on MRI for RANO-BM criteria follow-up.

Neuroimage

January 2025

Medical Physics Department, Centre François Baclesse, 14000 Caen, France; Université de Caen Normandie, CNRS, Normandie Université, ISTCT UMR6030, GIP CYCERON, 14000 Caen, France. Electronic address:

Rationale And Objectives: The RANO-BM criteria, which employ a one-dimensional measurement of the largest diameter, are imperfect due to the fact that the lesion volume is neither isotropic nor homogeneous. Furthermore, this approach is inherently time-consuming. Consequently, in clinical practice, monitoring patients in clinical trials in compliance with the RANO-BM criteria is rarely achieved.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Role and applications of [F]FDG PET/CT in the assessment of osteoarticular infection and inflammation - Part II.

Rev Esp Med Nucl Imagen Mol (Engl Ed)

January 2025

Servicio de Medicina Nuclear, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain; Grupo de Trabajo de Patología Musculoesquelética de la SEMNIM.

[F]FDG PET/TC is an emerging tool in the evaluation of inflammatory arthropathies, characterised by their insidious course and clinical overlap. It allows detection of subclinical inflammation, assessment of systemic involvement and quantification of metabolic parameters useful in early diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring. In rheumatoid arthritis, it correlates with clinical indices (Disease Activity Score), serological markers (CRP, anti-citrullinated protein antibodies) and ultrasound findings, and facilitates the identification of complications such as cardiovascular and pulmonary involvement.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Apixaban and rivaroxaban, both factor Xa inhibitors, are used for treating conditions like venous thromboembolism and preventing strokes in atrial fibrillation patients, but their optimal concentration levels in real-world settings are not well understood.
  • Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 16 observational studies to establish average peak and trough concentrations for these medications, involving a total of 2,375 patients.
  • The study found that average peak concentrations for apixaban and rivaroxaban were within expected ranges, and certain factors like age and creatinine clearance were found to influence these concentrations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Procalcitonin-guided duration of antibiotic treatment in children hospitalised with confirmed or suspected bacterial infection in the UK (BATCH): a pragmatic, multicentre, open-label, two-arm, individually randomised, controlled trial.

Lancet Child Adolesc Health

January 2025

Department of Infectious Diseases, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK; Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology, and Immunology, Institute of Infection, Veterinary, and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK. Electronic address:

Background: Procalcitonin is a rapid response biomarker specific for bacterial infection, which is not routinely used in the UK National Health Service. We aimed to assess whether using a procalcitonin-guided algorithm would safely reduce the duration of antibiotic therapy compared with usual care, in which C-reactive protein is the commonly used biomarker.

Methods: The BATCH trial was a pragmatic, multicentre, open-label, parallel, two-arm, individually randomised, controlled trial conducted in 15 hospitals in England and Wales.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated demyelinating disease of the CNS, whereby clinical disease activity is primarily monitored by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: Given the limitations associated with implementing and acquiring novel and emerging imaging biomarkers in routine clinical practice, the discovery of biofluid biomarkers may offer a more simple and cost-effective measure that would improve accessibility, standardization, and patient care. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoparticles secreted from cells under both homeostatic and pathological states, and have been recently investigated as biomarkers in MS.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!