French Survey Maps Consensus and Gaps in RCVS Imaging Practice

CTA is the go-to first-line test for reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) at 77% of French academic centers, but confirmatory and follow-up strategies vary widely. 85% document reversibility with long-term imaging; authors propose a pragmatic pathway pending pros…

• National cross-sectional survey; 26 of 30 French academic neuroradiology centers responded (87% response rate), describing 2024 calendar-year practice.
• MRI with a core protocol (DWI, FLAIR, SWI, MRA) was universally used, but advanced sequences and follow-up timing were highly heterogeneous; only 54% obtained confirmatory imaging after a positive initial study, and 69% re-imaged when initial imaging was negative despite strong clinical suspicion.
• Key limitation: descriptive survey design from a single country with potential practice-pattern bias; no prospective outcomes data and the proposed imaging pathway is explicitly not a formal guideline.

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