The magnetic resonance enterography imaging features of symptomatic Meckel’s diverticulum in pediatric patients: a retrospective observational study of 31 cases

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore the magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) imaging manifestations of a symptomatic Meckel’s diverticulum (MD) in pediatric patients in order to provide a reference for the diagnosis of the condition. METHODS: The medical records of 31 pediatric patients with MD from May 2014 to October 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The inclusion criteria were patients with MD accompanied by unexplained gastrointestinal bleeding, anemia (except hematological diseases), chronic persistent abdominal pain, repeated intussusception, or intussusception in older pediatric patients during surgery. The clinical variables (age, sex, and hemoglobin) and imaging, surgical, and pathological findings were recorded. RESULTS: MD was definitively identified in 28 patients, with the following characteristics: a blind-ending fluid-filled and/or gas-filled structure (n=23), an elongated shape (n=1), a dumbbell shape (n=1), and a solid mass (n=3). The diverticula were located in the right lower quadrant (n=16), the right abdomen at the level of the umbilicus (n=3), the right upper quadrant (n=2), the left upper quadrant (n=2), and the midline lower abdomen (n=5). Supply arteries were visualized in nine cases. In all cases, mural enhancement was comparable to that of the adjacent small-bowel (SB). Extravasation of the intravascular contrast medium was seen in two cases. Peripheral structural abnormalities included mesenteric fat stranding (n=7), hemorrhage in the adjacent lumen (n=3), free intraperitoneal gas (n=1), abnormal fluid retention (n=2), intestinal obstruction (n=1), and lymph node enlargement (n=7). A normal appendix was identified in 18 cases. CONCLUSIONS: MRE is an appropriate method of diagnosing symptomatic MD in pediatric patients and is particularly useful in the assessment of complications.