MRI for sinusitis | Representation of the paranasal sinuses by means of MRT

MRI for sinusitis

In the context of the diagnosis of a suspected sinusitis, the MRI as a further imaging diagnosis usually follows a physical examination, a smear taken from the nasal secretion and a rhinoscopy (rhinoscopy), but mostly only if complications occur, if a surgical intervention for therapy is planned or if there is a chronic course of the sinusitis. Simple, acute courses without complications usually do not require further diagnosis by MRI.

Procedure of the head MRI examination

A special preparation for the MRI examination is usually not necessary. It should only be ensured that no food or fluid intake takes place approx. 4 hours before the examination begins.

On the day of the examination, it is recommended to wear loose-fitting clothing without metal parts (e.g. buttons, zipper, underwired bra, etc. ), which can usually be left on during the examination. The patient is also encouraged to remove all metallic objects from the body (e.g. jewelry, watches, dentures, piercings, hair clips etc.).

The patient then lies on the examination couch in a supine position, which is then pushed into the MRI machine head first.If a patient suffers from claustrophobia, a sedative can be administered in advance. For this purpose, and also for a possible administration of a contrast medium before or during the examination, an indwelling cannula can be placed in the elbow arm vein in advance. During the examination, loud tapping noises caused by the MRI are heard.

If this is perceived as unpleasant or disturbing, the patient can be given headphones through which music can be played and the staff can also contact the patient. In addition, each patient is given an emergency bell in his or her hand, which can be pressed at any time during the examination, should problems occur. The MRI examination takes about 20 minutes in total, during which magnetic fields are used to take sectional images of the head and the paranasal sinuses, while the patient should remain as still as possible.

The administration of a contrast medium allows for a more precise and better image and image quality, so that it can be used before or during the examination. The contrast medium, which is injected into the bloodstream via the vein, accumulates particularly in areas where the blood flow is increased, such as sinusitis or tumors. The contrast media for an MRI examination do not contain iodine and are generally well tolerated without side effects.