Diagnostic value of gadopentetate dimeglumine for 1.5-T MR imaging of musculoskeletal masses: Comparison with unenhanced T1-and T2-weighted imaging

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Abstract
Three magnetic resonance (MR) imaging techniques (T1‐weighted, T2‐weighted, and T1‐weighted gadopentetate dimeglumine—enhanced) were compared in 32 consecutive MR imaging studies of 26 patients with suspected musculoskeletal masses. T2‐weighted images were superior to T1‐weighted enhanced images with respect to detection and definition of lesions in 12% of cases (n = 4) and were equal in 88% of cases (n = 28). T2‐weighted images were also superior to T1‐weighted images in 38% of cases (n = 12). In no cases were T1‐weighted enhanced images superior to T2‐weighted images. In two cases, T1‐weighted images were superior to both T1‐weighted enhanced and T2‐weighted images. The authors conclude that gadopentetate dimeglumine did not provide much value in lesion detection above that obtained with T2‐weighted images. They also conclude that T1‐weighted images were occasionally superior to T1‐weighted enhanced images and T2‐weighted images because of loss of definition between fat and lesion on the latter.