Magnetic resonance imaging of the mediastinum, chest wall and pleura in children

The acceptance of applications for the use of chest MRI in children has been somewhat slow and selective. The use of MRI to image chest wall lesions is likely the most common and widely used indication, aside from the widespread and somewhat sophisticated use of MRI in imaging the cardiovascular structures of the chest. In this respect, fairly standard variations of T1-W, T2-W and contrast-enhanced imaging can be used, similar to the sequences used for musculoskeletal lesions elsewhere in the body. Imaging of the anterior mediastinal masses should be performed in conjunction with a detailed pre-test clinical examination to determine potential cardiovascular compromise. MRI in the setting of middle mediastinal adenopathy, congenital mediastinal cysts or posterior mediastinal masses, however, has been shown to be more effective and more comprehensive than multidetector CT. Although sonographic imaging is the initial modality of choice for pleural abnormalities, MR imaging is extremely effective and clinically useful in the setting of a potentially ambiguous sonographic examination. Faster imaging protocols are likely to increase the acceptance of MRI to replace multidetector CT for many pediatric chest lesions.