PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Pierluigi Ciet AU - Piotr Wielopolski AU - Rashindra Manniesing AU - Sandra Lever AU - Marleen de Bruijne AU - Giovanni Morana AU - Pier Carlo Muzzio AU - Maarten H. Lequin AU - Harm A.W.M. Tiddens TI - Spirometer-controlled cine magnetic resonance imaging used to diagnose tracheobronchomalacia in paediatric patients AID - 10.1183/09031936.00104512 DP - 2014 Jan 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - 115--124 VI - 43 IP - 1 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/43/1/115.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/43/1/115.full SO - Eur Respir J2014 Jan 01; 43 AB - Tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) is defined as an excessive collapse of the intrathoracic trachea. Bronchoscopy is the gold standard for diagnosing TBM; however it has major disadvantages, such as general anaesthesia. Cine computed tomography (CT) is a noninvasive alternative used to diagnose TBM, but its use in children is restricted by ionising radiation. Our aim was to evaluate the feasibility of spirometer-controlled cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as an alternative to cine-CT in a retrospective study. 12 children with a mean age (range) of 12 years (7–17 years), suspected of having TBM, underwent cine-MRI. Static scans were acquired at end-inspiration and expiration covering the thorax using a three-dimensional spoiled gradient echo sequence. Three-dimensional dynamic scans were performed covering only the central airways. TBM was defined as a decrease of the trachea or bronchi diameter >50% at end-expiration in the static and dynamic scans. The success rate of the cine-MRI protocol was 92%. Cine-MRI was compared with bronchoscopy or chest CT in seven subjects. TBM was diagnosed by cine-MRI in seven (58%) out of 12 children and was confirmed by bronchoscopy or CT. In four patients, cine-MRI demonstrated tracheal narrowing that was not present in the static scans. Spirometer controlled cine-MRI is a promising technique to assess TBM in children and has the potential to replace bronchoscopy. Spirometer controlled cine-MRI: a technique to assess TBM in children with the potential to replace bronchoscopy/cine-CT http://ow.ly/pDNAA