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Comparison of two different injection rates of gadoxetic acid for arterial phase MRI of the liver
Author(s) -
Chung SangHoon,
Kim MyeongJin,
Choi JinYoung,
Hong HyeSuk
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.22057
Subject(s) - gadoxetic acid , medicine , nuclear medicine , radiology , bolus (digestion) , magnetic resonance imaging , hepatocellular carcinoma , pancreas , aorta , gadolinium dtpa
Purpose: To compare two different injection rates for gadoxetic acid‐enhanced hepatic arterial phase images on hepatic dynamic MRI. Materials and Methods: Hepatic arterial phase images were obtained after an intravenous bolus injection of gadoxetic acid at a rate of 1 mL/second in 62 patients and 2 mL/second in 64 patients on a 3 Tesla MR scanner using a test‐bolus injection method. The signal‐to‐noise ratios (SNR) of the liver, portal vein, hepatic vein, aorta, spleen and pancreas were measured. The contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) of hypervascular hepatic tumors was calculated. Two radiologists independently scored items to evaluate image quality of hepatic arterial phase and detected hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Results: The SNR of the aorta on the arterial phase images was significantly higher in the 1 mL/second group (235.43 ± 82.59) than in the 2 mL/second group (190.94 ± 96.90, P < 0.05). The SNRs of the liver, spleen and pancreas, the CNRs of hypervascular hepatic tumors, the detection rate of hypervascular HCC and subjective ratings for the optimal arterial enhancement were comparable between the two groups. Conclusion: Injection rates of 2 mL/second and 1 mL/second provided comparable image qualities on arterial phase images of hepatic dynamic MRI using gadoxetic acid. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2010; 31: 365–372. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.