MRI检测腹痛妊娠妇女十分安全有效

北卡罗莱纳州Chapel Hill的北卡罗莱纳州大学医院的研究人员分析了29例妊娠期间腹痛女性。在这其中28例患者都得以正确诊断，有1例例外是卵巢扭转（卵巢扭曲），在另外1例患者得以正确鉴别。

总计14例不同腹痛原因使用MRI得以诊断，包括阑尾炎、卵巢囊肿、出血和胰腺炎。根据研究人员的说法，在妊娠患者中诊断腹痛原因是一项困难的工作。

这项研究的作者之一Richard C. Semelka医生说：“诊断过程十分复杂，因为扩大的妊娠子宫挤压腹腔器官离开正常位置，因此疼痛不再通常的位置。同时疼痛原因很多，不仅包括与妊娠无关的疾病，还包括与妊娠相关和仅仅在妊娠时候的发生的疾病。”

根据这项研究，CT通常用于诊断腹痛，但是相当大的放射剂量输送给胎儿，不仅导致胎儿还导致母亲癌症发生率的升高。超声波检查没有放射危险，但是检查结果局限于某些疾病。

Semelka医生说：“使用MRI检查妊娠患者最大好处是象超声波一样，不仅对发育中的胎儿而且对目前都是十分安全的，而且检测子宫和子宫外疾病精确性极高，这是CT或者超声无法比拟的。”

MRI: Safe Diagnosis for Pregnant Women with Abdominal Pain

For the study, the researchers from University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, analysed the MR images of 29 pregnant patients who had been experiencing acute abdominal pain. In 28 of those cases, the correct diagnosis was made, the one exception being a case of ovarian torsion (twisting of the ovary), which was correctly identified in another of the patients.

A total of 14 different causes for the abdominal pain were diagnosed on MRI, including appendicitis, ovarian cysts, haemorrhage and pancreatitis. According to the researchers, diagnosing acute abdominal pain in pregnant patients can be a difficult task.

"Diagnosis is complicated since the enlarged pregnant uterus pushes organs out of their normal locations, so that pain is not in the usual place. Also, there are more possible causes for pain, including not only non-pregnancy associated diseases, but conditions more common in pregnancy and conditions unique to pregnancy," said Richard C. Semelka, MD, one of the authors of the study.

According to the study, CT is normally used for diagnosing abdominal pain, but a considerable dose of radiation is conferred to the foetus and can increase cancer risks in both the foetus and the mother. Sonography, which is safe from radiation, is limited in what it can reveal for diagnosis.

"The most compelling aspects about using MRI for evaluating pregnant patients are that it's safe, like ultrasound, both for the developing foetus and the mother and it has a high accuracy for detecting uterine and extra-uterine diseases that is unmatched by either CT or ultrasound," said Dr. Semelka.