Impact of Using MPR on MR Venography for Identifying the Dural Sinus Variations in Children: Performances of Radiology Residents

To investigate the changes in interreader agreement and diagnostic performance among radiology residents when recognizing dural sinus variations before and after using multiplanar reconstruction (MPR). This retrospective study included 150 pediatric patients who underwent phase-contrast MR venography between November 2014 and July 2024. Dural sinus variations were evaluated based on their presence or absence, including right transverse sinus (RTS) hypoplasia, RTS aplasia, right sigmoid sinus (RSigS) hypoplasia, left transverse sinus (LTS) hypoplasia, LTS aplasia, left sigmoid sinus (LSigS) hypoplasia, hypoplasia of the rostral end of the superior sagittal sinus (SSS), duplication of the posterior part of the SSS, right occipital sinus, left occipital sinus, and falcine sinus. Additionally, the drainage sides of the straight sinus and SSS were examined. The RTS, LTS, and SSS diameters were recorded from maximum intensity projection (MIP) and MPR images. Two radiology specialists and five residents (2nd to 5th year) individually evaluated all images on 2D axial, MIP, and MPR images. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. After MPR, the interreader agreement and diagnostic accuracies for recognizing dural sinus variations increased for all residents. The most significant improvement was observed in R5, the least experienced resident (p = 0.003). R5 also showed the most notable intrareader improvement in each variation. No differences were noted between MIP and MPR images when measuring the dural sinuses. The assessment of dural sinus variations is significantly improved for inexperienced readers when utilizing MPR.