Visualization of endolymphatic hydrops after administration of a standard dose of an intravenous gadolinium-based contrast agent.

CONCLUSION: Even after the administration of a standard dose of an intravenous gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA), visualization of endolymphatic hydrops (ELH) became possible in patients with Meniere's disease. The next step would be to consistently visualize ELH in the upper part of the cochlea.

OBJECTIVE: To visualize ELH after routine administration of an intravenous GBCA.

METHODS: An intravenous GBCA (gadodiamide; 0.2 ml/kg) was administered to three patients with unilateral Meniere's disease and two healthy volunteers. Three-dimensional fluid attenuated inversion recovery (3D-FLAIR) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed with a 3 T MRI scanner 4 h later.

RESULTS: In all three patients, ELH was observed in the affected vestibules. In contrast, the endolymphatic space of both vestibules was the same size in healthy volunteers. ELH of the cochlea was not observed in any of the subjects. Gadolinium enhancement was insufficient in the upper turns of both cochleae in patients 1 and 3.