MRI Can Reliably Rule Out Spinal Arteriovenous Fistula

Compared with gold-standard catheter angiography, magnetic resonance imaging appears to have excellent sensitivity for a rare but treatable cause of myelopathy.

Spinal arteriovenous fistula (AVF) causes a progressive myelopathy that can be reversed with endovascular or surgical treatment. The rarity and nonspecific presentation of spinal AVF often result in delayed diagnosis. Spinal AVF has traditionally been ruled out with catheter angiography of the entire spine, a laborious and invasive procedure. Case reports and clinical experience have long indicated that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can also reveal spinal AVF, but the sensitivity and specificity of this noninvasive approach have not been formally assessed. To provide such data, researchers reviewed a 15-year period at a single high-volume academic center and identified 36 patients with spinal AVF confirmed by angiography or surgery and 3…

Reviewing Author

Hooman Kamel, MD

Disclosures

Speaker’s bureauGenentech

Grant / Research supportNational Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Michael Goldberg Stroke Research Fund

Editorial boardsPLOS One; Scientific Reports

Leadership positions in professional societiesNeurocritical Care Society (Research Committee Member)

Hooman Kamel, MD

Disclosures

Speaker’s bureauGenentech

Grant / Research supportNational Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Michael Goldberg Stroke Research Fund

Editorial boardsPLOS One; Scientific Reports

Leadership positions in professional societiesNeurocritical Care Society (Research Committee Member)

MRI Can Reliably Rule Out Spinal Arteriovenous Fistula

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Reviewing Author