CT Myelography Cervical Spine There is no relevant literature regarding the use of CT myelography of the cervical spine in the evaluation of nontraumatic brachial plexopathy. Myelography is not routinely performed for the evaluation of nontraumatic plexopathy because it does not directly evaluate the plexus lateral to the neural foramina. CT Neck There is no relevant literature regarding the use of neck CT in the evaluation of nontraumatic brachial plexopathy. CT offers the next highest level of anatomic visualization of the brachial plexus after MRI and can evaluate for adjacent soft-tissue lesions or tumors that may involve the plexus [43]. CT with IV contrast can be useful for detecting and characterizing soft-tissue masses and tumors, which are in the differential diagnosis of nontraumatic brachial plexopathy and therefore may provide additional information over CT without IV contrast in this setting [43]. Plexopathy CT Cervical Spine There is no relevant literature regarding the use of CT cervical spine in the evaluation of nontraumatic brachial plexopathy. CT cervical spine cannot visualize the preganglionic nerve roots and does not fully evaluate the postganglionic brachial plexus because of the narrow field of view and limited soft-tissue contrast resolution relative to MRI. FDG-PET/CT Whole Body There is no relevant literature to support the use of fluorine-18-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-PET/CT in the evaluation of nontraumatic brachial plexopathy in the absence of a known malignancy. MRI Brachial Plexus Brachial plexus MRI has been shown to be useful in evaluating nontraumatic brachial plexopathy because of its superior soft-tissue contrast and good spatial resolution, providing detailed definition of intraneural anatomy as well as localizing pathologic lesions in conditions in which electrodiagnostic and physical findings are nonspecific [6,9,10,27].
Plexopathy. CT Myelography Cervical Spine There is no relevant literature regarding the use of CT myelography of the cervical spine in the evaluation of nontraumatic brachial plexopathy. Myelography is not routinely performed for the evaluation of nontraumatic plexopathy because it does not directly evaluate the plexus lateral to the neural foramina. CT Neck There is no relevant literature regarding the use of neck CT in the evaluation of nontraumatic brachial plexopathy. CT offers the next highest level of anatomic visualization of the brachial plexus after MRI and can evaluate for adjacent soft-tissue lesions or tumors that may involve the plexus [43]. CT with IV contrast can be useful for detecting and characterizing soft-tissue masses and tumors, which are in the differential diagnosis of nontraumatic brachial plexopathy and therefore may provide additional information over CT without IV contrast in this setting [43]. Plexopathy CT Cervical Spine There is no relevant literature regarding the use of CT cervical spine in the evaluation of nontraumatic brachial plexopathy. CT cervical spine cannot visualize the preganglionic nerve roots and does not fully evaluate the postganglionic brachial plexus because of the narrow field of view and limited soft-tissue contrast resolution relative to MRI. FDG-PET/CT Whole Body There is no relevant literature to support the use of fluorine-18-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-PET/CT in the evaluation of nontraumatic brachial plexopathy in the absence of a known malignancy. MRI Brachial Plexus Brachial plexus MRI has been shown to be useful in evaluating nontraumatic brachial plexopathy because of its superior soft-tissue contrast and good spatial resolution, providing detailed definition of intraneural anatomy as well as localizing pathologic lesions in conditions in which electrodiagnostic and physical findings are nonspecific [6,9,10,27].