Clinical Report: MRI-Based Segmentation and Morphometric Assessment of Neck Abscesses

Overview

This retrospective, single-center study evaluated whether MRI-derived abscess volume and shape measures could predict severity in surgically confirmed neck abscesses. The supplied article text describes the study rationale, cohort, and imaging methods but does not provide its results; therefore, associations between morphometric measures and ICU admission or prolonged length of stay cannot be reported here.

Background

Acute neck infections range from cellulitis and phlegmon to abscess and can be complicated by airway compromise, mediastinitis, or sepsis. CT is commonly used in emergency settings because it is accessible and rapid, whereas MRI offers greater soft-tissue contrast and can help distinguish drainable collections from phlegmon. Maximum abscess diameter has been associated with ICU admission and prolonged hospital stay, but it does not capture volume or irregular extension across fascial planes. Segmentation can quantify volume and shape characteristics, including sphericity and compactness, which this study assessed in relation to severity.

Data Highlights

Key Findings

• The study included consecutive patients with acute neck infection and surgically confirmed purulent abscess; 227 of 535 screened patients met the analysis requirements.
• Eligibility required contrast-enhanced MRI within 48 hours of presentation and surgical confirmation of abscess.
• The MRI protocol included diffusion-weighted imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient assessment; the article describes abscesses as T2-hyperintense collections with low ADC and surrounding abnormal enhancement.
• The investigators assessed segmentation-derived volume, sphericity, and compactness against manual maximum diameter for prediction of ICU admission and prolonged hospital length of stay.
• The supplied article excerpt does not report the study’s outcome data or comparative predictive performance, so no conclusion about which measure performed best is available.
• Related European Society of Head and Neck Radiology guidance identifies contrast-enhanced CT as the primary emergency imaging modality and describes MRI as providing additional soft-tissue assessment; diffusion-weighted imaging with ADC maps is recommended to demonstrate drainable abscesses.

Clinical Implications

The supplied study material establishes that MRI segmentation was evaluated as a way to quantify abscess morphology beyond a single diameter measurement, but it does not provide results supporting use of these measures for clinical risk stratification. Related guidance describes contrast-enhanced CT as the usual primary emergency study, with MRI contributing detailed soft-tissue characterization and assessment of complications.

Conclusion

This study was designed to test whether MRI-derived abscess volume and shape metrics improve severity prediction over manual diameter in surgically confirmed neck abscesses. The available source text does not include results, so the clinical performance of those metrics cannot be determined from the material provided.

Related Resources & Content

1. European Society of Head and Neck Radiology, European Radiology, 2025 — Key Insights on Acute Head and Neck Infections: Clinical Guidelines from the European Society of Head and Neck Radiology
2. European Society of Head and Neck Radiology, PMC, 2025 — ESR Essentials: acute infections of the head and neck—practice recommendations by the European Society of Head and Neck Radiology
3. American College of Radiology, ACR–ASNR–SPR — Practice Parameter for MRI of the Head and Neck
4. European Radiology, 2026 — Segmentation-based morphometric analysis of neck abscesses on MRI: associations with disease severity
5. European Radiology — Automated MRI Segmentation and Radiomic Feature Analysis of Hypopharyngeal Cancer Utilizing Deep Learning Techniques
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7. Evaluation of Radiomics Approaches and Dual-Energy Material Decomposition for Analyzing Abdominal Lymphoma in Contrast-Enhanced CT Scans
8. ESR Essentials: acute infections of the head and neck—practice recommendations by the European Society of Head and Neck Radiology
9. ACR–ASNR–SPR Practice Parameter for MRI of the Head and Neck
10. MRI edema patterns in acute neck infections: A multicenter and multidisciplinary interobserver study
11. Clinical and prognostic significance of emergency MRI findings in neck infections
12. Segmentation-based morphometric analysis of neck abscesses on MRI: associations with disease severity
13. ESR Essentials: acute infections of the head and neck—practice recommendations by the European Society of Head and Neck Radiology - PMC
14. ACR–ASNR–SPR PRACTICE PARAMETER FOR
15. MRI edema patterns in acute neck infections: A multicenter and multidisciplinary interobserver study - ScienceDirect
16. Clinical and prognostic significance of emergency MRI findings in neck infections - PMC
17. MRI of acute neck infections: evidence summary and pictorial review - PMC
18. Segmentation-based morphometric analysis of neck abscesses on MRI: associations with disease severity | European Radiology | Springer Nature Link
19. Diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced CT for neck abscesses: A systematic review and meta-analysis of positive predictive value | PLOS One
20. Neck Abscess - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf