Year: 2026 | Month: May | Volume: 16 | Issue: 5 | Pages: 96-105
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20260512
A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study to Assess the Importance of Diffusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DWI) in Pelvis Imaging in Tertiary Care Center in Rural Population of North Maharashtra
Praveen Choudhary1, Poonam Dabhade2, Amol Jagdale3
1,2,3Department of Radio-diagnosis,
SMBT Institute of Medical Sciences and Research centre, Nashik, India
Corresponding Author: Praveen Choudhary
ABSTRACT
Background: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is one of the advanced MRI methods that gives functional report about tissue cellularity and water diffusion, supporting in the characterization of pelvic lesions. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic importance of DWI in pelvic organ pathologies at a tertiary care center in rural North Maharashtra.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study included 70 patients referred for pelvic MRI over a period of 12 months. All patients underwent MRI with DWI and ADC mapping. Lesions were evaluated for diffusion characteristics and correlated with histopathological findings wherever available. Statistical analysis included calculation of sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy.
Results: The mean age was 53.63 ± 15.96 years with female predominance (84.3%). Malignant lesions constituted 60% of cases. Restricted diffusion was observed in 68.57% of lesions and was strongly associated with malignancy (p < 0.0001). Mean ADC values were lowest in solid lesions (0.82 ± 0.15 ×10⁻³ mm²/s) and highest in cystic lesions (1.95 ± 0.45 ×10⁻³ mm²/s) (p < 0.001). DWI showed 100% sensitivity, 78.6% specificity, and overall diagnostic accuracy of 91.4%.
Conclusion: DWI is a highly sensitive and reliable imaging modality for detecting and characterizing pelvic lesions. It significantly improves diagnostic confidence and helps differentiate malignant from benign conditions, making it a valuable adjunct to conventional MRI.
Key words: Diffusion-weighted imaging, Pelvic MRI, Apparent diffusion coefficient, Pelvic lesions, Diagnostic accuracy