Modification of apparent intracerebral hematoma volume on T2∗-weighted images during normobaric oxygen therapy may contribute to false diagnosis.

It was previously reported that normobaric oxygen therapy (NBO) significantly affected T2∗-weighted imaging in a mouse model of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). However, it is unclear whether a similar phenomenon exists in large volume ICH as seen in human pathology. We investigated the effects of NBO on T2∗-weighted images in a pig model of ICH. Our data show that NBO makes disappear a peripheral crown of the hematoma, which in turn decreases the apparent volume of ICH by 18%. We hypothesized that this result could be translated to ICH in human, and subsequently could lead to inaccurate diagnostic.