Contribution of MR imaging to the diagnosis of neonatal adrenal hemorrhage and renal vein thrombosis

Three newborns with flank masses underwent MR imaging after adrenal hemorrhage and/or renal vein and inferior vena cava (IVC) thromboses were suspected at US. The infants underwent a total of six MR examinations with the head coil of a 0.6-T unit. Relatively T1- and T2-weighted images were obtained in axial, sagittal, and coronal planes. MR imaging was found to be valuable in defining the hemorrhagic nature of suprarenal masses and in delineating the full extent of thrombi in the renal veins and IVC. Two infants with clinical and radionuclide scan evidence of renal parenchymal damage had abnormal corticomedullary distinction on MR images