DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2023.v11i03.029

Pages: 650-661

Stroke is one of the main causes of disability and death globally. Although Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has completely changed how stroke victims are diagnosed and treated, its application to the Sudanese population has not yet been investigated. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of MRI in detecting brain infarctions and to evaluate the correlation between patient demographics and MRI results in Khartoum State, Sudan. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Radiology department, Omdurman Military Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan, from April 2019 to February 2023. A total of 222 stroke patients were included in the study, with a slight male predominance (51.0%). Routine brain MRI was performed using 3 orthogonal planes and at least T1, T2, and FLAIR weighted images. The study found that all four MRI sequences (T1, T2, FLAIR, and DWI) have similar accuracy in measuring brain infarction sizes, with T2 sequence being slightly more sensitive. The most common occupation among stroke patients was soldier (19.8%) and the most affected age group was 63-77 years (34.2%). Additionally, the study revealed a higher incidence of right-sided infarctions (53.1%) compared to left-sided (47.0%). These findings provide insight into the accuracy of MRI in diagnosing brain infarction and highlight the importance of considering demographic factors in stroke evaluation.