002  A review of the performance of referring centres in diagnosing sCJD on MRI

• Published in: Journal of neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry Vol. 93; no. 6; p. A101
• Main Authors: Sequeira, Danielle, Jesuthasan, Aaron, Hyare, Harpreet, Odd, Hans, Rudge, Peter, Mok, Tze How, Nihat, Akin, Collinge, John, Mead, Simon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 01.06.2022; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subjects: ABN Abstracts 2021; Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical diagnosis
• ISSN: 0022-3050; 1468-330X
• DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2022-ABN.327

IntroductionMRI sensitivity of up to 96% for pre-mortem diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) has previously been reported. However, in 2012, Carswell et al. found that the initial neuroradio- logical report often failed to identify CJD-associated MRI changes (47% sensitivity). These patients were at a more advanced stage of disease when referred to specialist services. Here we assessed whether there has been a change over time.MethodsWe reviewed MRI scans of 106 patients (sCJD=102, IPD=4) referred to the NPC between 2015- 2019, and compared our findings with the formal reports from referring centres. We recorded the MRC Scale scores at initial patient assessment.ResultsWe found characteristic MRI abnormalities in 101 out of 102 sCJD cases. A differential diagnosis of CJD was documented on the neuroradiological reports of 70 of these cases, giving a significantly improved sensitivity of 69% compared to 2012. There was no association between the location of signal change and reporting accuracy. Patients had less advanced disease compared to 2012.ConclusionsMRI reporting of sCJD by referring centres has improved, but further improvement seems possible. We re-emphasize the importance of analysing scans thoroughly for characteristic MRI patterns of sCJD to enable earlier identification of these patients.daniellesequeira@nhs.net|ABN Bursary26