[MRI and Listeria monocytogenes rhombencephalitis]

Rhombencephalitidis is a serious form of brainstem inflammation, difficult to diagnose on the basis of clinical and laboratory findings alone. We describe the MR appearance of 3 cases of Listeria monocytogenes rhombencephalitidis and correlate the findings with clinical information. MR imaging is crucial for early diagnosis of this illness: patchy signal hyperintensity throughout the medulla and cerebellar peduncles on T2 weighted images, always in association with a hypointense dot; numerous gadolinium-enhanced microabcesses in the rhombencephalon. MR imaging is very useful for follow-up examinations.