Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in early central retinal artery occlusion

INTRODUCTION: Restricted retinal diffusion (RDR) has recently been recognized as a frequent finding on standard diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO). However, data on early DWI signal evolution are missing. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Consecutive CRAO patients with DWI performed within 24 h after onset of visual impairment were included in a bicentric, retrospective cross-sectional study. Two blinded neuroradiologists assessed randomized DWI scans for the presence of retinal ischemia. RDR detection rates, false positive ratings, and interrater agreement were evaluated for predefined time groups. RESULTS: Sixty eight CRAO patients (68.4 ± 16.8 years; 25 female) with 72 DWI scans (76.4% 3 T, 23.6% 1.5 T) were included. Mean time-delay between onset of CRAO and DWI acquisition was 13.4 ± 7.0 h. Overall RDR detection rates ranged from 52.8% to 62.5% with false positive ratings in 4.2%–8.3% of cases. RDR detection rates were higher in DWI performed 12–24 h after onset, when compared with DWI acquired within the first 12 h (79.5%vs 39.3%, p < 0.001). The share of false positive ratings was highest for DWI performed within the first 6 h of symptom onset (up to 14.3%). Interrater reliability was “moderate” for DWI performed within the first 18 h (κ = 0.57–0.58), but improved for DWI acquired between 18 and 24 h (κ = 0.94). CONCLUSION: DWI-based detection of retinal ischemia in early CRAO is likely to be time-dependent with superior diagnostic accuracy for DWI performed 12–24 h after onset of visual impairment.