March 3, 2026Open Access

Comparison of central FLAIR hypointensity and central vein sign on FLAIR* in a diagnostic cohort

Central vein sign assessment on FLAIR is found to be unreliable, needing additional sensitivity sequences for accuracy.
Important evidence indicates that using only FLAIR cannot reliably diagnose conditions where central vein sign is critical.

Is the assessment of central vein sign on FLAIR alone reliable compared to FLAIR* in a diagnostic cohort?

Population

Diagnostic cohort

Intervention

Assessment of central vein sign (CVS) on FLAIR alone

Comparator

FLAIR* (susceptibility-sensitive sequences)

Outcome

Reliability and clinical usefulnesssurrogate

Assessment of the central vein sign requires susceptibility-sensitive sequences (FLAIR*) rather than FLAIR alone to be clinically useful.

Assessment of CVS on FLAIR alone is unreliable and requires susceptibility-sensitive sequences to be clinically useful.

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