Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Central Nervous System and Paranasal Sinuses in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: Findings from a Survey of Clinical Records in Kermanshah Province

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, with more than 5.2 million people across the world being afflicted with. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a valuable investigative tool in the diagnosis of MS. This study summarizes the of findings from MRI studies on the central nervous system and paranasal sinuses between 2004-2014 in the population of MS patients in the Iranian Kermanshah Province. The clinical records of a total of 294 patients admitted to the neurology ward of Kermanshah’s Farabi Hospital of Kermanshah between 2004 and 2014 and diagnosed to be afflicted with MS were surveyed. The data were collected using a checklist prepared based on the McDonald Wibers standard criteria. The checklist consisted of 37 close-ended questions which assessed MRI findings in the central nervous system and paranasal sinuses of MS patients in 4 domains, including the most common early clinical signs of the patient, distribution of lesions, affliction with sinusitis, and demographic characteristics. The collected data were summarized using descriptive statistical methods and analyzed using hypothesis test. Married, housekeeper, and undergraduate patients showed the highest frequency among MS patients (59.5%, 50.2 %, 28.2 %, respectively). MRI test was rreported as signed in 94.9% of patients. While he most frequent anatomical sites afflicted with plaque lesions were white matter surrounding the ventricles (77.50%), the least frequent one was identified to be basal ganglia (1.7%). The anatomical site involved showed a significant relationship with the patients’ age (P = 0.006) and occupation (P = 0.036), respectively. Early clinical manifestations of the patient was significantly correlated with and the family history of affliction with MS (P = 0.036). No gross differences in the frequency of MS disease, among age, sex, and lesion pattern groups compared to other studies was identified. Observing sinusitis in patients afflicted with MS is suggestive of their random association.