Attenuation of Cerebral Venous Contrast in Susceptibility Weighted Imaging (SWI) in Pediatric Patients Under General Anesthesia.

Jan Sedlacik¹, Ulrike Lbel¹, Alberto Broniscer¹, Zoltan Patay¹, Claudia M. Hillenbrand¹

Pediatric patients have to be anesthetized during the MRI exam which can lead to a considerable attenuation of the contrast of cerebral veins in SWI. It is known that the deepness of the anesthesia raises the blood CO2 level which in turn increases the cerebral blood flow (CBF). Furthermore, it was shown in healthy adults that an increased level of CO2 in the breathing gas causes a loss of venous contrast in SWI. Purpose of this study was to investigate how anesthesia impacts the venous contrast in SWI.