MRI Brain Scans Coming To Emergency Rooms?

There is currently no protocol to utilize MRI scanning at an emergency room with those suspected of having suffered TBI. The standard protocol is the quicker and cheaper CT scan. A new “brief MRI protocol” has been developed and in its initial test, in scans done within the first 48 hours after trauma, showed abnormalities in 57% of the patients. Nine of the nineteen suspected mild TBI patients with a negative CT had positive findings on the MRI. Most of the abnormalities on the MRI were noted on post contrast FLAIR. 

The problem in proving objective damage in cases of mild TBI is illustrated here. The initial abnormalities are missed by the CT scan and six months or years after the event, the abnormalities can no longer be identified by radiologist. If they are seen, they are simply called “non-specific findings.” This has caused great distress in thousands of TBI victims in the last four years.