MRI: the next frontier for cystic fibrosis clinicians?

Evaluation of: Puderbach M, Eichinger M Haeselbarth J et al. Assessment of morphological MRI for pulmonary changes in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Invest. Radiol. 42, 715-725 (2007). There is growing interest in assessing pulmonary disease in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) with sensitive imaging techniques, such as thin-section computed tomography (CT) scans of the chest, to detect early abnormalities and to evaluate the response of therapeutic interventions. However, the higher radiation dose of CT compared with a chest radiograph remains a concern as the cumulative dose could potentially be harmful, if used routinely over decades. The current prospective study evaluates the ability of morphological MRI, a radiation-free imaging modality, to detect pulmonary pathology in CF patients. MRI examinations were found to be comparable to CT scans and may, therefore, potentially be a useful imaging technology to evaluate lung disease in CF patients.