Abstract
Incidental findings (IFs) are an asymptomatic abnormality found while examining a patient for an unrelated reason. The impact of finding incidental abnormalities on patient health outcome is not certain, but it is worth remembering that IFs may be more significant than the suspected disease that prompted imaging. This study aimed to calculate the frequencies and emphasize the clinical importance of IFs in the brain magnetic resonance imaging examinations. A prospective descriptive, analytical study, including 60 subjects was investigated in the period from 2016 to 2019. Both 1.5 and 0.35 Tesla MRI machines (Toshiba and Siemens Medical Systems) were used to examine the patients at three hospitals in Khartoum state, Sudan. Overall, 10 incidental findings (10% of the sample) were found. Various incidental findings (IFs) were seen, including Chiari I malformation, multiple sclerosis, polyps\retention, mucosal thickening in the paranasal sinuses and Tornwaldt cyst. Out of these IFs, 1.7% was considered major importance. MRI examinations paying attention to incidentally detect pathological findings and congenital anomalies/anatomical variations are very important because they can alter the treatment of the patient or affect the patient's life.