Gadolinium-DTPA in the evaluation of intradural extramedullary spinal disease

Gadolinium-DTPA was used in MR imaging of the spine to determine the ability of a contrast agent to increase the detection and characterization of disease in the intradural extramedullary space. Although MR imaging, especially with recent technological improvements, has been shown to be at least competitive with, and often superior to, myelography and postmyelography CT in the study of intramedullary and extradural disease, its use in the assessment of intradural extramedullary disease has been questioned. We selected 12 patients with intradural extramedullary disease as demonstrated by positive CSF cytology and/or myelographic findings and performed MR examinations on them before and after administering gadolinium-DTPA (0.1 mmol/kg). Gadolinium-DTPA was extremely effective in depicting intradural extramedullary disease of the spine. Small nodules of 3 mm, virtually invisible on noncontrast MR scans, enhanced strongly and were easily detected. In addition, leptomeningeal spread of tumor along nerve roots was also visualized, sometimes more readily than by myelography and postmyelography CT. The remarkable sensitivity of gadolinium-DTPA to intradural extramedullary disease assures its role in future MR examinations of the spine.